Borrowed Time
by chocolatecheesecakes
Summary: Selene has always been living off borrowed time. Every second brings her closer towards her intended 'destiny', written out in the green ink on Malfoy crest embossed paper. She has no way out. The past will always come back to haunt her. And unless she finds an escape, once and for all, she'll never see the light of friendship and love again. But running from death is never easy.
1. Prologue

Prologue: My Name Is Selene

My name is Selene.

That's my name, the rest of it hardly matters. You can tell who I am from my colouring, it's distinctive in more ways than one. The way people look at me in the street, equal measures of reverence and disgust; has made me someone I'm not altogether proud with. I have friends, sure, but love has always avoided me.

I see real families almost every day, and the way the parents smile at their kids almost breaks my heart. Because I can never have that. Not when your parents are too wrapped up in themselves to see how much they hurt their kids. As sad as it is, that is my life.

I could live with it, if the same treatment wasn't extended to my brother. There is a degree of responsibility with younger sibling, and I would take the weight of the world for my brother. We are like chalk and cheese, he's snarky and I'm shy, but that doesn't mean I love him any less. We are two halves of the same whole, both tall and blonde with sharp chins. It looks better on him than it does on me.

Love is not something I expect. My friends continue to surprise me with it, however, in the thoughtful Christmas gifts and notes passed between us in classes. Their parents are much more reluctant to begin with, but they don't say out loud. If I wasn't so good at reading their eyes, then I wouldn't know. And they warm up, and now many of them seem more like family to me than my own parents ever have.

Right now, I am sitting on my bed, my four-poster bed, in my massive bedroom in my massive house. I suppose that's one of the better attributes to my life - money, something I never need worry about. I'm not stupid enough to regret having that.

But something feels like change. The electric feel of the atmosphere I am sitting in, the humid tones of the air, it all hints to something I can't quite place my finger on. Every time I try to name it, it slips through my fingers.

Again, it's best if I ignore it.

So, I do.

And that was my first mistake.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The Top Box

"Father's had these tickets booked for months, you know," Draco drawled, leaning against the wooden pillar, glancing across at the bright green fabric that encased the small, rickety staircase. "I'm astounded that your mother didn't get you any for the Top Box, Blaise, even if she can't make it herself."

Blaise Zabini - tall for his age, dark skinned, dark haired, dressed in freshly pressed black wizard's robes - raised an eyebrow and shrugged across at his friend. "I don't see it as that important," he lied, trying to ignore Draco's knowing smirk. "And after all, I'm only one floor below you and your family. It'll be exactly the same."

"Will it, now?" Draco snickered, pushing one hand through his slicked back blonde hair. "You say that when you see what crummy view you end up with. I'll be sure to let you know how amazing sitting in the Top Box was."

"Now, now, Draco," Lucius tapped his son on the shoulder, slowly and noticeably gently, giving Blaise a slightly pained nod. "Don't go making everyone jealous. That simply isn't the done thing."

Draco glanced back at Blaise, making a show of rolling his eyes, but begrudgingly closed his mouth. He knew better than to contradict his father. Leaving his friend behind in the queue for the stands, he double stepped up the staircase on his way to catch up with the rest of his family.

The Top Box was pretty high up - as it should have been, at the amount of money it costs (although it hardly put a dent in the Malfoy's pockets) - and Draco couldn't help but smirk at the slightly insistent way that his sister was staring at her Omnioculars, rather than anywhere else.

"Having a good time?" she asked him, not giving him a second glance (probably as to not evoke the wrath of her greatest fear, but it was best not to judge a book by its cover). "How are your friends?"

"Good," Draco shrugged, pulling the object out of his sister's hands and turning them over in his own. "According to father we'll be sharing the Top Box with the Weasleys this evening. What do you think to that?"

"How did they get the money?" Selene glanced up, looking somewhat surprised. "I know they won the Daily Prophet's lottery last year, but that money only goes so far. And they were in the newspaper for blowing it all on a trip to Egypt, too."

Draco sneered, rolling his eyes again. "I just don't think tonight will be as enjoyable with their sort around with us too. Don't you think?"

"Haven't really thought about it," Selene shrugged, taking the Omnioculars back with a slightly incessant tug. "And anyway, just concentrate on the players. I know you've been looking forward to this for months. Don't let people like them ruin your time."

"Lovely to see you Lucius, as always. Is this your wife?" They could hear Minister Fudge up ahead, as their parents disappeared into the Box. Draco raised an eyebrow at his sister, who sighed heavily and slowly followed, ignoring the jostling hand that her brother was trying to use on her back.

She glanced over the group of redheads - with, interestingly, as she noticed, Harry Potter and Hermione Granger - quickly, before extending her hand to the Minister, along with a charming smile. "A pleasure, Minister," she said, giving her mother a sideways glance. "It's always lovely to see you again."

One of the Weasley boys - one of the ones she didn't know the name of - mimed sticking a finger down his throat in the corner of her vision, and she was caught between giving him a dirty glance and laughing. In the end, she settled for a weird choking, coughing, almost giggling noise, before quickly excusing herself to Fudge - who was looking a little concerned that the elder Malfoy child seemed to be in the process of dying in his presence.

After all, that wouldn't do him any good for his re-election next year.

She didn't notice the curious, slightly bemused look that she got from said Weasley boy, as her mother led her over to their seats, or hear the whispers exchanged between him and his twin brother.


	3. Chapter 2

**I'm aiming for one chapter update every weekday!**

Chapter 2: Mosmordre

Selene skirted a peacock, ignoring the intense wish to blast it out of the way, grabbing her brother's arm and dragging them into the clear patch of land in front of their tent, away from all the insane decorations and animal wildlife.

"What the hell is going on?" Draco asked, yanking his arm out of his sister's grip as soon as he could. "Father said nothing like this was due to happen! I thought mother said that he'd stopped all of this since You-Know-Who fell!"

"You think he'd tell you?" Selene snapped, trying to steady her breathing. "Draco, just stay here, I need to keep you safe, at the very least, whilst I find a way out of here, Muggles be damned."

"You're staying here!" Draco grabbed his sister's arm, holding her in place. "Mother will be terrified if she comes back and you're not here, and you know it!"

"And wait for us to be completely annihilated by whoever comes along?" she glanced over and shook her head fervently. "We need to get out of her, at the very least. Maybe I can make a Portkey, I'm sure we could explain it to the Ministry if we tell them what the circumstances were…"

"You're insane," Draco shook his head, in abject disbelief. "You're acting way too much like a Gryffindor. Maybe being in the Top Box with the carrot heads has had some kind of affect on you."

"Shut up," Selene pulled a face in his direction. "And no, I'm not insane. It's a good idea. We can use any kind of object, it's not like any Muggle is going to come along and erroneously pick it up. And I know how to do the incantation, I looked it up last school year."

"Of _course_ you did," Draco sneered. "Go on, then, play the hero. Get us home. We'll have to enter you for the 'Annual Heroic Idiot of the Year' Awards, although you'll always come second to Potter."

"Stop being rude," Selene sighed heavily, looking around. "And it's hardly heroic. It's running away, although that's mostly so any particular haters of our father can't find us and try to drag us into an interrogation."

"Oh for Christ's sake," Draco rolled his eyes. "It's not like You-Know-Who's back or anything. We'll be fine. Father knows better than to go getting himself into trouble, too."

There was a loud, bellowing yell, an incantation of sorts, and the siblings jumped, Draco quickly tightening his grasp on his sister's arm again. And then, slowly, as one, they both stared up at the sky, where a cloud of gray and dark green smoke was slowly arranging itself into a horribly familiar symbol.

"Change of plan," Selene said quickly, not daring to look up again. She felt for her wand in her pocket and grasped it. "We're staying here."

Draco nodded his head, also reaching for his wand. "I'm inclined to agree with your decision there."


	4. Chapter 3

**Sorry I've been gone so long! Sixth form bit me in the arse… Expect a few more updates soon!**

Chapter 3: Lying to Live

"No, we aren't waiting for Cho," Draco said, determinedly not looking anywhere near any Muggles, as if they might corrupt him. "Straight to the Platform-"

Selene laughed, glancing over to where a large diesel train was pulling into Platform Nine. "You can't tell me you're not even a little bit interested," she teased, with a grin. "Just a little?"

"By Salazar, must I always mind you?" the boy sniggered, ignoring the girl's fascination with the Muggle trains. "You're supposed to be the older one..."

"Shut up, Draco," the girl glared - somewhat playfully - at her brother. She glanced across to where a large familiar group of redheads were waiting, and Selene scanned them quickly, trying to ignore the suspicious glances from the youngest son and the two identical twins, who, along with Harry Potter, were watching Draco with outright hostility.

"Ready to go yet?" Draco said, blissfully ignorant of their audience. "Or are you going to try and chat up a Muggle?"

Selene shot Draco a stern look, and shook her head cautiously, worried in case that her parents were watching them somehow, as they inevitably were.

Even though they had officially left the two of them alone fifteen minutes ago.

"Of course I am," she said, deadpan, pulling Draco back to let the Weasley family (plus the two extras) through the barrier first. "Muggles are the only decent shags I've ever had."

"Why are we letting them through first?" Draco glared, giving his sister an insulted glance. "They're _Blood Traitors_. If only father could see you now."

"Because it's _polite,_ " Selene snapped, taking his hand. "And don't call people that. It's a term we should be above. Just like Mudblood, and you know that."

They were getting some very nasty looks from the redheaded family, especially from the youngest - Ron - who was glaring at Draco like he'd eaten his Puffskein. Harry Potter didn't seem very pleased to see him either, honestly, although Selene could hardly blame him, judging by the intense rivalry he always seemed to have with her younger brother.

The Weasley matriarch, on the other hand, evidently not recognising either of them, gave Selene a bright smile. "Thank you, dear," she said cheerfully, and Selene gave Draco's hand a meaningful squeeze. "You know what it's like… Seven children, it's such a hassle."

Selene nodded politely, smiling back as the woman began to bark instructions at her brood, pairing them all off and instructing them to go through. Selene pulled Draco's arm back, just in case, and waited patiently, feeding her owl a couple of treats, ignoring the sharp nips on her fingers.

It took a while, but finally all the family were through, the mother with another final bright smile and sentiment of thanks, and she finally let go of her brother.

"That wasn't so hard, was it?" she asked, raising her eyebrows. Draco just scoffed, pushing himself and his trolley through the barrier, Selene following suit a few seconds later.

"Selene!" Cho grinned, running over to her friend the second she saw her. "You're late!"

Selene checked her watch and laughed, shaking her head. "So," she began, pulling her trunk off the trolley and moving her owl off the top. "Fifteen minutes before is late now?"

"You said you'd be here _at least_ thirty minutes before, in your letter!" Cho complained, grabbing the other side of Selene's trunk and helping her friend shift it onto the train. "I should know better than to trust you, you liar!"

"Mother wanted to make sure we were okay," Selene explained, summarising the fifteen minute hugging session that her mother insisted upon (not that Selene was complaining) in as little words as she could. "And I had to make sure that Draco had packed everything as well."

Cho just rolled her eyes, gesturing to the trunk - now lying right in the middle of the corridor - and looking meaningfully at her friend. "We might need to shift this," she said, raising one eyebrow.

"Allow me, ladies," Roger Davies cut in from behind them, giving Selene and Cho a winning smile and pulling himself up onto the train in front of them, picking up the trunk in one fell swoop and moving it into an empty carriage.

Roger was a Chaser on the Ravenclaw Quidditch Team, along with Cho, and fancied himself quite the playboy. The problem with this was that his enormous ego was well-earned, as he had dated half the Ravenclaw girls - which, unfortunately, had included Selene, some time ago. Even now, he still did occasional favours for her, for reasons she didn't quite understand but accepted all the same.

"Thanks Roger," Cho called, grinning sideways at Selene. She never lost an opportunity to play the field either. "So, what did you do over the summer?"

Selene had no interest in what Roger Davies had done over the summer, so she turned away, looking back onto the Platform, picking out individuals with her eyes and recognising them. Vincent Crabbe was being kissed goodbye by his slightly trollish-looking mother, whilst her brother was talking to Theodore Nott - a deeply unpleasant individual with a perchance for nasty curses.

They all looked so... So _happy._ None of them were plastic, or transparent, or just robots pretending to care. Her stomach squirmed uncomfortably.

Normally her parents would be here, on the Platform as well, but her mother was taking a Portkey to Berlin for an important gathering of society women, and her father most likely had to meet with the Minister. Selene shivered at the thought - not only did Fudge give her the creeps, but after the World Cup she didn't even want to imagine what lies her father was feeding him.

"Come on!" Cho called, startling Selene out of her daydream. "I have some fortune tellers I want to try on you!"

So, Selene turned away from the families kissing their children goodbye, the families that made the feeling stir in her stomach, and towards the Hogwarts Express, smiling quickly at Cho to disguise her earlier expression. It wasn't wholly fictional, her smile. Going to Hogwarts again always made her smile. But there was a hint of insincerity in it, a sprinkling of sadness as Selene climbed onto the train, trying not to wish for a mother that wasn't too busy organising society events to see her children off, and a father that didn't lie to live.


	5. Chapter 4

**DOUBLE UPLOAD ALERT! MAKE SURE YOU'VE READ THE PREVIOUS CHAPTER TOO!**

 **Thanks for bearing with me! Let me know what you think by leaving a quick review or follow/favourite. I've edited all the chapters up to chapter 6 so far, I'm going to try and have chapter 10 edited and uploaded by the middle of June.  
**

 **I'm also really happy to discuss what changes I'm going to make through PM, so drop me a review and I'll get back to you. I'm always up for different ideas.**

Chapter 4: The Triwizard Tournament

It was pouring down outside, and Cho - like normal - had grabbed the only protection Selene had from the rain, a book. Selene had to jog, dodging from tree to tree. She was soaked through in mere seconds.

When Selene finally made it to the Entrance Hall, she slipped over on a large puddle, falling backwards into a group of Third Years, who thankfully just tittered and went on their way. They were quickly replaced with the tall, imposing figure of Professor McGonagall, who looked less than pleased to find a Ravenclaw Prefect spreadeagled on the floor.

"I shouldn't expect any less from you, Miss Malfoy," she said, pursing her lips together as she glanced upwards to the ceiling of the Entrance, waiting for Selene to stand up before continuing. "But, after all, it is the first day, so I won't take points from you... And it wasn't your fault."

"Already wet, aren't they?" Peeves appeared, grinning down at the Entrance Hall and throwing a water balloon at a few Second Years. "Little squirts!"

Professor McGonagall rolled her eyes. "Miss Chang, Miss Malfoy," she continued. "Please continue into the Great Hall, the less mess in here the better, I think- No, Peeves!"

The Transfiguration teacher rushed over to prevent a few Fourth Years from being bombed, and Cho grabbed Selene's arm, towing them out of the Entrance Hall before Peeves could cause any more damp accidents.

When they were out of the way, Selene pulled out her wand and cast a Drying Charm, which managed the water out of everything but their hair. Cho groaned, predictably, as she was rather attached to her (formerly) pristine hairstyle.

"It's going to be this frizzy all week," she predicted glumly, glancing over to her friend, and stifling a smile. "And I forgot to put my Frizz-Ease Hairspray in this morning. Um... Selene?"

"What?" Selene asked, casting another Drying Charm on her book, opening it to examine the state of the pages. "I got the water out of our robes, didn't I?"

Cho snorted, holding out a strand of her hair for inspection. "It looks like you've just been fucking in a bush," she said, with a smirk. "My hair is-" She fumbled in her bag, pulling out a small pocket mirror, examining her reflection. "...curly? Oh, this isn't good..."

"Thanks for the book, by the way." Selene said drily, completely ignoring Cho's complaint. "It really saved me from the rain."

"No problem," Cho grinned, as they took their normal seats on the Ravenclaw table. Marietta shifted up from a couple of seats down, shrieking when she saw Cho, although she quickly stifled it with a hand over her mouth.

"What happened?" she asked, aghast.

"A gigantic frog," Selene said dryly, fishing for a hair tie in her robe pocket, passing it over to Cho, who took it with a thankful smile. "How were your holidays?"

Cho and Marietta were two halves of the girliest girls in the entirety of Hogwarts, their obsession with makeup and clothes and hair making Selene an outsider in their group. But, when Selene had been sorted, they must have seen something in her - maybe her Pureblood background and rich father - and had welcomed her with open arms. Although that might have been their rooming situation.

"I can do something about this," Marietta said quickly, pulling out a small bottle, seemingly out of nowhere. Cho leaned forward in anticipation. "Magical Anti-Frizz. My mother got it from Italy."

Cho quickly grabbed the bottle, turning it over in her hands a couple of times. "Can I really use this?" she asked, brow furrowing as she looked through the ingredients. "Fluxweed… This must have been really expensive!"

"Don't worry about it," Marietta waved a hand. "I don't mind. It's to share. I have plenty more at home."

This was how it always had been, and how it always would be. Selene tuned out of the conversation, opening the (now mercifully dry) book and beginning to read.

When the First-Years began to flood in, Selene finally looked up, making a mental note of the page she had managed to reach, before she pocketed the book and watched all of them, trying to pick out the prospective Ravenclaws.

oOo

"A good crop this year," Cho remarked, over her lemon tart. "Do you reckon we'll be able to pull the House Cup this time around?"

Selene shrugged, half-absorbed in her book again. She would read anywhere, just about. The dinner table, under the desk in classes (although she had attempted to get rid of that habit), curled up in the comfy armchair in the corner of Ravenclaw Tower…

"Give me that!" Marietta wrestled the book out of Selene's grasp. "I thought you said that you were going to stop reading at mealtimes?"

Selene responded by sighing, taking the book back, and reluctantly pocketing it. "Okay, what are we talking about?" she asked.

"You could at least pay a little attention," Cho said, just as the plates vanished, and Professor Dumbledore got to his feet. "We _were_ talking about whether we could win the House Cup this year. Gryffindor have won it way too many times-"

"So!" Dumbledore said, beaming around at them. "Now that we are all fed and watered, I must once more ask for your attention, whilst I give out a few notices."

Selene silently crossed her legs over, resting her head on her hands and looking over at the Headmaster.

"Mr Filch, the caretaker, has asked me to tell you that the list of objects forbidden inside the castle has extended to include Screaming Yo-yos, Fanged Frisbees and Ever-Bashing Boomerangs..."

Selene barely paid any attention, focusing instead on watching the Professors, wondering vaguely what they did on their holidays - Professor McGonagall was still looking rather rattled after the incident in the Entrance Hall. Maybe she had gone on a nice holiday to Barbados. She was looking rather tan. Snape, on the other hand, was still as pale as ever. It was like he'd holidayed in a Muggle freezer.

"...the inter-house Quidditch Cup will not take place this year."

"What?" Roger Davies called out, a sound echoed by most members of all four Quidditch Teams. Selene smirked slightly, recalling what she'd been told by her father, only that morning.

She was not completely aware of the rules of the Tournament, or indeed the reason why it had been stopped, but Selene was pretty sure that she wasn't going to enter. It sounded far too exciting. And she didn't really want the whole of Hogwarts to realise just how crap at fighting things she was.

There was a deafening rumble of thunder, and Selene jumped. She would have fallen backwards yet again if it hadn't been for Cho's swift intervention. The doors of the Great Hall banged open, and the room turned as one towards the latecomer.

A man stood in the doorway - a man that made Selene's stomach lurch unpleasantly. She knew who he was, alright, and by the looks of things most people did as well. Cho stifled a gasp as the man pulled his hood off his face, and Marietta clutched the table for support.

As the man began to limp towards Dumbledore, his right leg clunking every time it hit the flagstones, there was a flash of lightning that threw the man's facial features into illumination. As he passed Selene, his normal, dark eye flickered to her for a meaningful second, before snapping to the front again. His larger eye rolled around as he moved past, exposing white rather than electric blue, and Selene could tell that he was staring at her.

The ex-Auror Alastor Moody reached Professor Dumbledore and stretched out a scarred hand. Then he stomped over to the empty seat, shaking out his mane of dark grey hair and pulling a plate of sausages towards him.

"Is that who I think it is?" Cho asked breathlessly, her brown eyes as round as saucers.

Selene only nodded, concentrating fully on keeping from vomiting, quite inexplicably.

"May I introduce our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher," Dumbledore said brightly, into the silence. "Professor Moody."

Selene brought her hands together to clap, but quickly changed her mind when Moody's blue eye whirled to the side, resting on her for a measured moment.

Why did he keep staring at her?

"Now- as I was saying," Dumbledore continued, and everyone's gazes snapped to him once again. "Hogwarts has the honour of hosting a very special event this year, one that has not been held for over a century. It is my very great pleasure to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year."

"You're JOKING!" someone said loudly, and the tension in the room suddenly broke. Selene laughed, shaking her head, beginning to tease the corner of her book out of her pocket before Marietta slapped her hand away.

"I am not joking, Mr Weasley," Dumbledore chuckled. "Although, now you mention it, I did hear and excellent one over the summer about a troll, a hag and a leprechaun who all go into a bar-"

"That's impossible," Cho cut in, as McGonagall cleared her throat to cut Dumbledore off. "Hags and Trolls are notoriously elusive, and Leprechauns have been banned from all Wizard-built buildings since the 1400's."

"I know- didn't the Leprechauns at the World Cup have to get special permission?" Selene asked, her attention wandering.

"The Triwizard Tournament," Dumbledore began. "Was first established some seven hundred years ago, as a friendly competition between the three largest European schools of wizardry - Hogwarts, Beauxbatons and Durmstrang. A champion was selected to represent each school, and the three champions competed in three magical tasks. The schools took it in turns to host the Tournament once every five years, and it was generally agreed to be a most excellent way of establishing ties between young wizards and witches of different nationalities - until, that is, the death toll mounted so high that the Tournament was discontinued."

Selene shuddered, wishing a little that the Wizarding World could come up with something a little safer for once, like a nice chess game. She had been in the Hogwarts Chess Club since her fourth year, and had improved tremendously.

"I'm not going to enter," Cho said, in a low voice. "No system is foolproof." she added.

Not even the mention of the glory (the prize money meant nothing to Selene, as she came from a family that could bathe in a thousand Galleons if they wished) could persuade Selene to enter. She was happy being under the radar, keeping herself to herself.

But her brother was sure to want to enter. Glory appealed to his very nature, and if he had a chance of getting in he would definitely try.

"Eager though I know all of you will be to bring the Triwizard Cup to Hogwarts," Dumbledore was saying, and Selene raised an eyebrow. "The Heads of the participating schools, along with the Ministry of Magic, have agreed to impose an age restriction on contenders this year. Only students who are of age - that is to say, seventeen years of age or older - will be allowed to put forward their names for consideration."

"Thank goodness," Selene exhaled, thinking of her brother. She glanced over to where Draco was sitting, just to check on him, and smiled fondly as she saw him, obviously complaining to Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle.

"You weren't thinking of _entering_ , were you?" Cho asked, smirking at Selene's annoyed expression. "Just kidding, sorry. Don't stab me with the butter knife. This is a brand new robe!"

Selene just shook her head, turning back to Professor Dumbledore in time to hear the latter half of his next, short speech.

"And now, it is late, and I know how important it is for you all to be alert and rested as you enter your lessons tomorrow morning. Bedtime! Chop chop!"


	6. Chapter 5

**Hope you enjoy this! I'm done up to chapter 7 on the rewriting front, I'm almost done with chapter 8 and I'm scrapping chapter 9. If anyone would like to Beta read this, that would be great!**

Chapter 5: The Seating Plan

The sixth year Defence Against the Dark Arts class were made up of the students that had managed to get E grades or above at O.W.L level - and due to the teaching methods that Professor Lupin used, the class was large. However, like always, the majority of the students were Ravenclaws, as always seemed to be the way.

The exception to this rule was of course Potions, as Professor Snape always would favour his Slytherin students, no matter how many parents complained. And, of course, Professor Snape required an Outstanding grade.

Selene tapped her fingers against the desk, humming a tune under her breath, reading the first paragraph of their new textbook over and over again. How long would this take? Professor Moody was already five minutes late - it wasn't good form for a brand new teacher to show up even a few seconds late. Five minutes was just unheard of. Moody was sure to be an unconventional teacher, although it would be hard to measure up to Professor Lupin's famed prowess.

It was a shame that Professor Lupin had left. Selene had to hand it to the man, he'd done a lot to help them with their O.W.L. level course. The class was swollen to about thirty, whereas most N.E.W.T. level courses only took in about ten people. With the dwindling numbers of magical students coming in each year passing, the class was conspicuously high achieving.

Of course, Lupin had turned out to be a werewolf. Which wasn't his fault, naturally, but it still put Selene on edge. She hadn't expected the quiet, mild mannered Professor to have any secrets, let alone any he had to hide. Of course, her father had been the one to officially sack the Professor, in his position as Governor. Selene hadn't been let off the hook by her parents either, and she knew that they hadn't considered her black inked 'E' grade to have any founding.

Still. Selene felt like she needed to send a letter of apology to the Professor. Even though she'd already apologised in person for Draco's actions. And sent him a follow up letter over the summer.

She hadn't received a reply.

"Selene!" Cho's incessant voice cut through Selene's daydream, jarring her back to reality. "Listen to me, goddammit!"

"Sorry," Selene rolled her eyes. "I wasn't aware that my daydreaming directly affected you in any way… Guess I was mistaken."

"You'd better be sorry," Cho sighed, glancing around at the rest of the class before leaning in. "My period started this morning. The cramps are insane. It's horrible that we aren't allowed Muggle medication in school, I really need some ibuprofen right now."

Selene nodded sympathetically. "I don't know of any useful charms that could help… Maybe if you go to Madam Pomfrey after class, she might be able to give you some pain relief potion?"

"Good morning class."

Selene jumped, looking upwards and seeing the face of their new Professor, staring at the class, his false eye spinning in its socket. Selene swallowed, risking a sideways glance at Cho, who at least seemed equally as shocked as her. Professor Moody nodded, stumping up to the chalkboard and scrawling ' _N.E.W.T. Level Defence Against The Dark Arts'_ onto it, in slightly scratchy handwriting.

"I am here to teach you how to handle Dark Curses, how to put Non-Verbal spells into practice, and how to survive attacks from deadly dark creatures," Professor Moody continued, voice harsh and barking. "If you're not prepared to behave yourself then you will find yourself OUT!"

No one spoke. Moody waited for a couple of seconds before continuing his speech. "First things first, you need to get to know each other- one wrong foot and you're OUT Belby!" he added, as the boy looked, aghast, at the band of Gryffindors. "Now… How about a good old fashioned seating plan? That's how they did it in my time."

"He hasn't taught before has he?" Cho said, in an undertone, just as Moody stomped towards his register. Selene only nodded, too wary to attempt speaking. "I don't know any class where that's worked out at all…"

Professor Moody picked up his register, running his finger down the lists of names, beginning to pair people together. "Miss Chang?" he looked around, his electric blue eye locating the girl's raised arm in a matter of seconds. "You'll be next to Mr Jordan."

Cho gave Selene a slight disconsolate glance, picking up her back and slowly walking over to the dreadlocked boy, who was positively beaming to be seated next to someone that was attractive. He pulled Cho's chair out for her, smiling a garish grin her way.

"Mr Belby, you'll be with Miss Johnson," Moody continued, not even waiting for the annoyed looking Ravenclaw to find his seat before continuing. "Miss Malfoy," he looked straight at Selene, even though she hadn't had time to raise her hand. "You'll be next to Mr Weasley."

Selene winced, risking a glance at the pair, who were sat up straight, wearing identical grins. "Which one?" they chorused, eyes twinkling. Both of them looked far too cheerful to be up to any good.

"George Weasley," Professor Moody eyed them both for a second, before one of them reluctantly stood up and made his way over to the other side of the classroom, where Selene was sitting, waiting for her imminent destruction. "Miss Harris, the other Mr Weasley. Miss Edgecombe…"

Selene avoided looking over at George, and instead busied herself with the textbook Cho had slammed on her hand, flicking through the index and running her finger down each letter. When she reached the one she needed, she turned to that page, still ignoring the gaze boring into her skull.

Everyone knew the Weasley Twins. Selene had been the unlucky recipient of many of their pranks over the years, whether Fred and George knew her by name or not. There was the incident of the green slime shower in the Ravenclaw Quidditch Changing Rooms, and the time when she had been covered from head to toe in a Muggle sweet called candyfloss. She didn't hate them for it, because you just _couldn't_. No one hated Fred and George Weasley, no matter how many times they got you.

Well, except for Professor Snape. But he was a notable exception.

"You going to talk to me then?"

Selene tensed, and she hurriedly slammed the book shut, almost catching her hand between its pages. She didn't want to talk to him, he was far too cheerful for a boy that'd just been sat next to the daughter of an ex-Death Eater, and she was too cautious to immediately trust him.

"I thought not..." George continued sullenly, opening his identical textbook to the same page Selene had been reading from.

They were both silent for a while, Selene listening to Moody's description of their curriculum for the year and George doodling something in the margin of page 236.

Suddenly, George turned to her, raised a ginger eyebrow, and asked: "Why is a Malfoy in _Ravenclaw?"_

Selene looked up slowly, her eyes looking into his brown ones for the shortest possible amount of time before she jerked her head down again. Allowing herself a small shrug, she went back to her textbook.

"Okay - how are _you_ in Ravenclaw?" George smirked, shaking his head. "The Malfoy heiress, a Ravenclaw. Who'd have thought it?" he added, as an afterthought.

"Does it matter?" Selene asked, giving him a slightly curious look. "Do you _want_ to talk to me or something?" Maybe he needed to get checked out by Madam Pomfrey too.

"I'm not even sure why I'm talking to you," George admitted, pushing a hand through his red hair. Selene nodded, glancing up from her book again. "But..." he sighed, and held out one freckled hand. "I guess I am..."

Selene eyed his extended hand in mingled shock and trepidation. She didn't want this. But that didn't stop her muscle memory, the instated discipline that made her take his hand.

"I'm Selene Malfoy," she greeted, giving him a small smile.

"George Weasley," George replied, giving Selene one of his famous smirks. "Although you know that. Come on then, answer my question. Why are you in Ravenclaw?"

He was too easy to talk to. "Er, that's where I was Sorted," Selene began, raising her eyebrow. "What did you think?"

George chuckled, giving her a grin. "You're a fun one," he smirked. "Not quite funny, but fun. Was Daddy pleased?"

Selene rolled her eyes, and looked over at Moody, copying down the notes from the board. "I'm the first one in seven generations of the Malfoy bloodline to be sorted into a House other than Slytherin," she pointed out. "What do you think? But it could have been worse. They had Draco to fall back on though."

"Well, trust me, they fell back on Draco a bit too heavily," George snorted, flipping his textbook open to the right page. "No offence, but your brother is the most spoilt kid to ever live."

"Hey," Selene said sharply, giving George a somewhat heated stare. "You can slag off as many Slytherins as you want, but stay away from my brother. Just because Harry and Ron have a problem with him doesn't give you a right to bully him."

"Whatever you say," George sang under his breath, turning back to his textbook.

oOo

"You seemed to be having fun," Cho said suggestively, brushing past a few First Years to catch up with Selene, who was hurrying ahead, one eye on the watch on her wrist. "George Weasley, eh? All the hot guys are hitting on you now."

"I'm pretty sure he's in the anti-Malfoy club," Selene answered, trying her best to ignore Cho's incessant twittering in favour of actually getting to Ancient Runes on time. It was a shame. George had seemed rather nice. But Blood Traitors and Pureblood Supremacists didn't tend to get along. "I mean, my father kind of hates his father…"

Cho stalled in the middle of the corridor, raising her eyebrows as the Weasley Twins strode past, arm in arm, talking loudly about how awesome that class had been. One of them spared her a wink, making Cho's face flush up (Selene wouldn't let that go anytime soon), along with a smile in Selene's direction.

Even if the twins were identical, Selene was sure that the one who had smiled at her was George, not Fred. She didn't even know if Fred knew her first name. But she smiled back, nodding once for good measure, before watching as they disappeared around the corner.

"I think you're becoming a _real person_ ," Cho smirked, as she watched the twins walk away. "Not just a nerdy ghost. A _real person._ "

"Shut up, Cho," Selene rolled her eyes. "It's only two people. And they're _Weasleys,_ too. They don't like me, and I don't like them. It's twofold. Mad-Eye will move us, I just need to ask him."

Cho snickered. "You think? Selene, Mad-Eye Moody is probably the most abstinent teacher I've ever had. And you think he'll move you if you ask him nicely?"

"Yes!" Selene snapped. "I'm sure he will! I'll say George was… Sexually harassing me!"

"That's going a tad too far," Cho pointed out. "That's _definitely_ going to make him hate you. And, honestly, if anyone's going to sexually assault anyone, my money's on Nott. Just flash Moody your boobs. That'll get him to move you."

"No," Selene immediately replied, shaking her head. "No, no, no. He's old enough to be my granddad, Cho. And I don't have any boobs to show him."

"Hello, ladies," a suave, swooping voice lilted from behind Selene and Cho, and the tall figure of Roger Davies wrapped an arm around the waist of both girls. "What are you talking about on this fine day?"

"Fuck off, Roger," Cho scowled, sweeping the Quidditch Captain's arm away. "I've told you before, I'm not interested in taking your Love Potions."

"Me?" Roger held one hand to his heart in mock offence. "A potioner? I'll have you know, I got a D at O.W.L. Needless to say, Snape didn't invite me back this year."

Selene rolled her eyes, and wriggled her way out of Roger's grasp (and his rather audacious hand placed on her rear). "I'm not interested either," she sighed heavily. "Leave us alone, Roger. Not every girl wants to fuck you."

"We'll see about that," Roger's eyes twinkled, as he started off down the corridor towards Alicia Spinnet. "Don't count your Thestrals…"

"She'll punch him for us," Cho smiled cheerfully, linking her arm with Selene's. "Now. Care of Magical Creatures?"

"For you," Selene pulled out her wand from her pocket and summoned her timetable from her bag. "I have Ancient Runes. I think…"

"Well, don't pine over George Weasley too much!" Cho grinned. "I know he's a catch, but he's bad news! A womaniser!"

" _Nobody_ could be as bad as Roger." Selene muttered, but Cho was already walking away down the stairs, in the direction of the sunny grounds.


	7. Chapter 6

**A quick chapter for you all!**

Chapter 6: Elfish Welfare

The Great Hall was even more crowded and stuffy than it usually was, much to Selene's distaste. She bit her tongue to keep from making a rude comment to one of First Years that was bellowing into her ear, and instead slammed her book shut, making the young boy jump about three feet in the air.

Cedric - of course - looked up as she did, sending her a questioning look as she slipped her work and books back into her bag, glancing behind her at the terrified young Ravenclaw.

Cedric was Cho's current fancy, and he was such a change from the men she had fallen for before. Less like a fuckboy, for one. Selene had known him for years, as the Diggory's were an old Pureblood family and their families operated in the same circles, even if her father never really enjoyed talking to Amos. Did her father enjoy talking to anyone?

They'd fallen out of touch after Selene was sorted into Ravenclaw and him into Hufflepuff, but after a shared Potions lesson in Third Year which ended in a furious Snape and a slightly blackened wall, her and Cedric had become friends again. Admittedly not as close as they had been, but friends all the same.

"Library," she mouthed at him, shifting her bag a little higher on her shoulder. Cedric nodded, not questioning any further, and Selene relaxed considerably.

Thank goodness it had been Cedric and not Cho that had noticed her change of plans. Cho would most certainly have forced her to sit with them and talk about hair products for another half an hour.

She didn't want to push her luck any more than she had to, so Selene turned around, and tried to guess how much work she could get done while everyone else was at dinner.

oOo

Selene bit her bottom lip, sweeping her hair off her shoulder and massaging her temples. Transfiguration never came easily to her, however hard she tried. It didn't click with her like Charms or Ancient Runes did. It was a mess of gobbledegook. Unfortunately not the actual language, because at least she knew how to say 'fuck' in that.

Golpalott's Tenth Law was making less and less sense the more times she read it over, to the point where the words were messed up into a page of black streaks. Selene slammed the book shut instead, before swiftly turning to the work she could do – Charms.

"Are you okay?"

Selene started, looking up into the slightly concerned eyes of Hermione Granger. The girl in question placed a considerably large book in front of Selene, and offered her a cautious smile.

"You looked like you were having a bit of trouble," Hermione explained. "This should help- was it Transfiguration that you were looking at?"

Selene nodded, taking a deep breath as she accepted the book, picking it up and turning it over in her hands, reading the gold lettering inscription on the back with a slightly bemused expression.

"Do you, you know," Hermione continued, gingerly. "Want any help?"

 _"Granger's an insufferable know-it-all," Draco sighed, glaring down at the pile of Divination holiday homework he had been kindly given by Professor Trelawney. "God, and what is up with her hair?"_

"Yes please," Selene answered quickly, before she could change her mind.

Hermione grinned in response, taking the empty seat next to Selene and placing the large wooden box that she had been working with. "Right," she began, suddenly serious. "What is it you were having trouble with?"

"Golpalott's Tenth Law," Selene explained, turning to the needed page. "The one about the assigned mass and its delegations..."

"Oh, that one?" Although it was Sixth Year work, Selene wasn't surprised that Hermione knew of it. She was notoriously smart. The brightest witch of her age. The brightest magical person of her age. "That's simple- you just need to cross-reference the unknown variable, u."

Selene tested this out, her face slowly breaking out into a smile as it worked, and the Tenth Law finally began to make some kind of awkward sense.

"Thanks," Selene nodded, giving Hermione a thankful smile.

"It's really no problem," Hermione insisted, allowing herself a little smile. "Although… Could I ask you something?"

"Ask away," Selene replied easily, dragging her chair back slightly to allow her legs some extra room.

"You're Selene Malfoy, right?" Hermione questioned, looking slightly worried. "Sorry, but you were in the Top Box on the night of the World Cup. With your family."

Selene nodded, ignoring the knawing feeling in her gut. Geez, she really needed to eat something sometime soon. "That's me," she smiled again, slightly wistfully. "I honestly didn't think you'd want to talk to me. My brother has been a bit of a cunt to you."

"A bit," Hermione shrugged. "But no. I just wanted to say - I don't think you're, you know. Like them. Like your family. You seem decent."

Selene laughed, looking up and giving Hermione a smile. "Thank you," she said, honestly. "That's the vibe I try to give off. Magical hippy in a family of loonies. Anything else you want to ask?"

"Actually- could you do me a favour?"

This wasn't what Selene had been expecting. But she nodded all the same, closing the book with one hand. "Anything, within reason," she said, after a second, looking back up at the bushy haired Gryffindor, who had produced a small wooden box from her bag.

"I just decided to found this society," Hermione began, reaching into the wooden box and fishing out a brightly coloured badge with the initials S.P.E.W. inked onto it. "S.P.E.W. It stands for the Society for the Protection of Elfish Welfare."

Selene nodded, pushing the book away and accepting the fluorescent orange badge from Hermione. "So, it's a society for House Elves?" she asked curiously.

Hermione placed a blue-embossed leaflet in the palm of Selene's hand, and grinned. "Everything you want to know is in here," she stated. "That is, of course, if you'll join."

 _Not a good idea._ Her (incredibly annoying) inner voice warned, reaching out from the darkness.

"Um..." Selene began, swallowing her voice as she remembered Dobby. Her inner voice grew stronger, and louder, sounding a little bit too much like her father as it grew and sprouted consciousness. "Yes. Yes I will." For that poor sodding Elf, if nothing else.

If Hermione noted Selene's abrupt acceptance, she didn't comment on it. Instead, she smiled widely, pressing the orange badge into Selene's hand. "Great!" she said cheerily. "I'm planning to ask Harry and Ron to join as well- do you know them? Well, of course you know Harry-"

"Yes, I know them," Selene smiled. She might have been older, and in a different House, but she knew all about Harry Potter and Ron Weasley's escapades, just as much as she knew everything about Hermione Granger's intellect.

"Good!" Hermione grinned again, picking her small wooden box up. "I'm off to go and see them... I guess I'll see you soon!"

Selene smiled, somewhat weakly as Hermione departed. She waited until the younger girl's bushy head of hair had disappeared around the corner before Selene began to pack up her books.

The book Hermione had passed her was still lying on the desk in front of Selene - and, on a whim, she picked it up and carried it over to Madam Pince, ignoring the librarians angry glare as she made a fraction of a bit too much noise. "Can I take this out, please?!

"Certainly," Madam Pince said curtly, looking up from her work, flipping open the front cover and stamping the first page with a magical stamp. "Bring it back on time, or it's enchanted to eat your hands."

The large book wasn't going to fit in Selene's bag, so she just carried it, wrapping her arms around it and slipping the S.P.E.W. badge into her pocket.

Selene checked her watch - she had half an hour until curfew. She relaxed, certain that Mr Filch wouldn't have any reason to catch her out, and set off at a calm pace towards Ravenclaw Tower.

"Ah!"

Selene jumped, almost dropping her book on the floor, turning around and reaching for her wand out of habit. Except her nervousness seemed to be rather misplaced, especially as it turned out to be Neville Longbottom who had startled her, standing upright, precariously balanced on the staircase.

Something in his expression softened Selene's caution outright, and she lowered her guard faster than she would normally. "Are you okay?" she asked quietly, stepping into the full light, so Neville could see her fully.

The younger boy flinched backwards again, Selene's heart missing a beat from its already fast-paced pattern. "W-who are you?" he asked, in terrified fixation.

"Selene, Ravenclaw Prefect," Selene said, tapping the badge emblazoned on her robes. "Why are you out here so late?"

Neville gestured down at his legs, which were completely trapped in a trick step. Selene had never seen the comedy value of them, to be honest. She had been on the receiving end of the practical joke many a time, much to Cho's amusement.

She took hold of Neville's arms and slowly hauled him out of the trick step, pushing her hair away from her face with her elbow.

"You're not the only one, late out tonight," Selene said, offering Neville a little smile, which he returned cautiously. "Now, you'd better get back to your Common Room, before curfew begins."

"Thanks," Neville said, almost tripping over the top step of the staircase in his haste to move. Selene giggled, and watched the younger boy move away, a lot of unanswered questions just on the tip of her tongue.

It had started with George, then spread to Hermione, and now Neville. What was happening to her? There were too many Gryffindors in her path at the moment...

With every passing day, her problems were getting bigger and much, much worse. Selene swallowed, tucking a loose strand of blonde hair behind her ear. Then she turned on her heel, walking towards her Common Room with twice the speed she had possessed before.


	8. Chapter 7

**We're almost at 50 followers! Thank you for all your support so far, I appreciate every last review, favourite and follow. I hope you enjoy this chapter - and as an FYI, I've decided to complete my Unconditionally story, so keep an eye out for updates with that. This story and that one will be very different, both with their storylines and their outcomes, but I'm planning great things.**

Chapter 7: The Delegations

If anyone called the Malfoy family fools, then that was very far from the truth. You didn't survive through countless generations, living through a devastating Wizarding War and the witch hunts of the 1700s just to come out and be called _fools._

Perhaps, even if Selene disliked most of the principles that her family came up with, they deserved credit where credit was due. Long lasting survival being one of them, brain smarts being another. She had thankfully inherited at least one of those traits, and she was begrudgingly thankful for that.

It didn't stop making Arithmancy an absolute _headache_ , though. Selene pulled a frustrated expression, running her hand through her hair and making another notation in the margin of the page

When they arrived in the Entrance Hall after a Potions lesson later that week, they found themselves unable to proceed up the stairs owing to the large crowd of students gathered around a large sign that had appeared at the foot of the large marble staircase.

TRIWIZARD TOURNAMENT

 _The delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving at 6 O'Clock on Friday 30th October. Lessons will end half an hour early._

 _Students will return their bags and books to their dormitories and assemble in front of the castle to greet our guests before the Welcoming Feast._

"Only a week away!" Ernie Macmillan of Hufflepuff said, emerging from the crowd. "I wonder if Cedric knows? Think I'll go and tell him."

"He already knows," Cho whispered to Selene, smiling broadly, eyes shining. "I told him! Do you think he likes me?"

"Yes," Selene rolled her eyes. "I bet he jacks off thinking about you every night."

That had been a joke, but Cho thought Selene was being serious. "Really?" she grinned. "I guess the short skirts are doing their job then… He's definitely been looking at me a lot more recently. Just a little bit more work, and he'll be eating out of the palm of my hand."

"Trust me, Cho," Selene smiled. "He already is."

oOo

When they went down for breakfast on the morning of the 30th October, they found that the Great Hall had been decorated overnight. Enormous silk banners hung from the walls, each representing a Hogwarts house – red with a gold lion for Gryffindor, blue with a bronze eagle for Ravenclaw, yellow with a black badger for Hufflepuff and green with a silver serpent for Slytherin. Behind the teachers' table was the biggest banner of all, depicting the Hogwarts coat of arms, lion, eagle, badger and snake united all around a large letter 'H'.

Selene and Cho made their way to the Ravenclaw table, taking a seat about halfway down. Cho piled her plate high with untoasted bread, reaching across Marietta to grab the butter. "Raw diet," she explained, not looking up. "I want to look my best, especially if Cedric gets into the Tournament. Did you know that the host school has a Ball to celebrate the Tournament, and the champions open it with their partners?"

"Yes," Selene replied, opting for the slightly more fattening breakfast option of bacon and eggs. "I did know that. In fact, I told you that. Approximately two hours ago."

"Well, so?" Cho shrugged. "You might have forgotten. And you didn't know, did you Marietta?"

"Well-"

"Don't tell me," Cho sulked, shoving a slice of buttered bread into her mouth. "You knew too."

"Tell you what _I_ know," Sue Li cut in, leaning across to the Sixth Years. "The Weasley twins are looking _fit_ today."

Selene immediately shoved a whole fried egg into her mouth, chewing to mask the sounds of the conversation. She had had _enough_ of the twins. Enough to last five million lifetimes. George kept trying to hold a conversation with her in DADA, he'd started smiling at her in Transfiguration too.

There was also that time that he'd accosted her in the hallway outside Gryffindor tower, asking her for a kiss over and over again in exchange for him letting her go. She'd been let go after she'd kneed him in the bollocks, and George had sworn on pain of a very slow death to never do that again.

"It's flirting!" Cho had said, at the time, eyes going wide. "He's really into you! He obviously wants you two to go and snog in the Forbidden Forest-"

"We _really_ need to get you laid," Selene had chuckled, shaking her head. "No, he's just a prick. And he does that to every girl that he's friends with, I know, I saw him doing it to Katie Bell just yesterday."

"Friends?" Cho's eyebrows raised, as she sat up straighter in her seat. "Are guys _friends_ now? Have you exchanged addresses and everything?"

Selene had shut up again at that point, going back to her Charms homework, ignoring the heat in her cheeks. They weren't friends. They were just two people that had been forced to sit together by a guy with a mad, spinning eye.

Selene tuned back into the conversation just in time to hear the fateful words of: "Selene knows George Weasley, don't you Selene?"

Sue Li seemed to regard the Prefect in a whole new light. "Can you introduce me?" she asked, in hushed tones. "I just… I've never had the guts to talk to them before…"

Selene glanced over her shoulder at the twins, raising an eyebrow. They seemed to be engaged in heated conversation with their younger brother, and neither of them spotted her looking over. "Why?" she asked Sue Li, quickly, shovelling another forkful of bacon into her mouth.

"Well," Sue Li blushed. "They're just hot, you know? All the girls like them. Especially Fred, he's so charming…"

Selene was officially put off her food. Sue Li's swooning was making her a tiny little bit nauseous. "Sure, fine, I'll introduce you," she begrudged. "Just… Give me a second to mentally prepare."

Sue turned a scarlet red colour, before turning back to her fellow fourth year friends. "Come on," Selene said, after a moment, getting to her feet. "But don't expect wonders. I barely know them."

As they both made their way over, George looked up. A smile broke across his face as he leapt to his feet, grabbing Selene by the arm. "Malfoy!" he beamed, which made Harry and Ron start and glance around. "My main chum, my old pal, my butternut squash…"

"Malfoy?" Ron said, looking concerned, barely noticing Selene. Fred, on the other hand seemed positively furious that his twin was palling up with the daughter of their father's forsworn enemy. "Where's Malfoy?"

"Not here," Selene said, disengaging her arm from George's grip. "He's on the Slytherin table. Weasley, as lovely as it would be to engage in small talk, I'm here for other reasons."

From the corner of her eye, Fred relaxed. "Good," he said, outright hostility in his tone. "Now, get on with it, Malfoy. Don't you have some Slytherin arse to fuck?"

"Christ," Selene muttered. "Someone got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning."

Merlin, what did Fred think she was? Selene glanced at George, but George seemed just as perplexed. "Hey, Fred, mate," he began. "She's my friend, it's chill. Pull that broomstick out of your arse."

"Oh, so now you're palling up with the Malfoy family," Fred seethed. A look of recognition began to spread across Ron's face. As for Harry, he simply stood there, silently regarding. Hermione looked a little embarrassed. "What's happened to you, Georgie? Got a little hankering for some blood money?"

George went pink as he met Fred's gaze. "Leave her alone, Fred," he said warningly. Selene raised an eyebrow, silently wondering why she was being stood up for.

"Hey, you know, it's okay," Selene cut in swiftly, as Fred purpled. "I'll just go. I understand."

From behind her, Sue Li gradually trailed off back to the Ravenclaw table, looking slightly disappointed. Nobody noticed, as they were all too busy fixating on the discourse between the twins and Selene.

"No, it's okay," George countered Selene's approach. "My twin here is just being a complete prick. Fred, I swear to Godric, stop being a little bitch!"

There was a pause, in which Fred turned his furious gaze on Selene. The Ravenclaw shrunk back a little, taken aback by the hatred in his eyes. She'd known this would happen, of course, but the momentary show of friendship from George had given her hope. Even if it was false hope, it was hope nonetheless.

"I'll talk to you later, George," she said under her breath, giving him a meaningful look. She glanced over the other three, trying not to be disheartened by the scowls she was getting from Ron and Harry. Hermione shot her a nervous, if small, smile.

She could feel the glares as she turned away. Hopefully, Draco hadn't overheard that. If he'd even had the merest suspicion that Selene was talking to the Weasleys, he would Owl their parents immediately. Just as a precaution, of course.

Selene didn't stall at the Ravenclaw table, instead grabbing her bag from her previous place, shoving another mouthful of bacon down her throat and walking quickly out of the Great Hall. Draco followed his sister with his narrowed pale blue eyes.

oOo

Dusk was falling when the students filed down the front steps and lined up in front of the castle. The evening was cool and clear, the moon already shining in the night sky like one of Professor Trelawney's Crystal Balls.

Selene was standing between Cho and Marietta in the second row from the back, wrapping her winter cloak around her shoulders as the evening cold began to set in. Cedric was standing on the other side of Cho, and he passed his own cloak to the shivering girl after only a few minutes, along with a smile.

In her mind, Selene smirked, but outwardly, she kept her gaze fixed on the sky.

" _There!_ " Yelled a sixth year, pointing over the forest.

Something large, much larger than a broomstick was hurtling across the deep blue sky toward the castle, growing larger all the time.

As the gigantic black shape skimmed over the treetops of the Forest, the lights shining from the castle hit it, revealing a gigantic powder blue horse-drawn carriage, the size of a large house. It soared towards them, pulled by a group of winged horses, each the size of an elephant.

The front three rows of students drew back as the carriage hurtled ever lower, coming in to land at a tremendous speed before crashing down.

A boy in pale blue robes sprang forward and opened the doors to the coach, and the most gigantic woman Harry had ever seen emerged, followed by a dozen girls and boys, all in their late teens.

One of the prettier girls, a tall blonde haired beauty gasped slightly as she looked over towards the Ravenclaws.

"Selene!" She exclaimed, rushing over towards the Ravenclaw group, as their Headmistress made no attempt to stop her.

Selene grinned and slipped out of the crowd to wrap her arms around her French penfriend. "Fleur!" she grinned, squeezing the slightly older girl tightly. "I didn't know you'd be coming!"

"Well, eet just 'ad to be done," Fleur grinned back at her friend, kissing her once on each cheek. "The chance to compete? It's a once in a lifetime opportunity!"

"True," Selene chuckled at Fleur's antics, repeating the kissing action. "Will you all come and sit with us at the Feast?"

"But of course!" Fleur exclaimed. "Give me but a moment, Selene, _ma cherie_. I will be back shortly."

The French beauty walked back to her group, flashing Selene a stellar smile as she stood beside the rest of her cohort, all dressed in the same pale blue robes.

"What the-?" Ron raised an eyebrow from the group of Gryffindors, who had all been regarding the spectacle unfold with uncharacteristic interest. "How does Malfoy senior know that extraordinarily beautiful French girl?"

"Never mind that," Hermione brushed Ron's comment aside. "Imagine how much _culture_ they can tell us about… I mean, Selene must know a lot too…"

"Well, she can set me up with the blonde one," Ron said smugly. "It's always useful having inter-continental relations. Ow, 'Mione…" Rubbing the spot on his arm where Hermione had punched him, Ron glared at her.

"Earlier you were all 'Oh my god she's Malfoy's sister I'm never going to talk to her' and now after you find out her friends are pretty you instantly think 'Yay! Now she can hook me up!' Honestly Ronald."

"Look, shoot me for being interested in her," Ron rolled his eyes. "I'm sorry. She's just… Mesmerising…"

"Ronald, you know very well that she won't so much as look at you." Hermione cut in, gritting her teeth and folding her arms.

"Yes – but George sits next to Malfoy's sister in Defence Against the Dark Arts! He can get her to put in a good word for me!" Ron plotted, sounding more and more excited by the millisecond.

"You might want to start by calling her Selene," Hermione recommended. "You won't get anywhere by referring to her as Malfoy senior."

"And you, my dear brother, are deluded," George cut in. "If you want Selene to get that hot French girl to go out with you, you'll have to ask her yourself."

"No way," Ron blanched. "I'm not talking to Malfoy's sister."

"She's really nice," Hermione protested. "She's very quiet, always in the library before lessons and after dinner, helps me out with Charms and Arithmancy if I'm stuck, she was the one that joined S.P.E.W. and actually _wears her badge_!" Hermione ended with thinly veiled venom at Harry and Ron's reluctance to wear the brightly coloured badges. "She doesn't bite, really. But you have to talk to her, she's a bit shy."

"You sound like you're giving me instructions on how to approach a kitten," Ron grumbled.


	9. Chapter 8

**Second update in a day! I hope this is enjoyable. Please review, favourite and follow! Everything is appreciated immensely!**

Chapter 8: Assumptions

Selene had decided against even attempting to place her name in the Goblet of Fire. It just wasn't worth her while. She'd seen what the Age Line had done to Millicent Fawcett, and she wasn't up for experiencing a similar fate. Cho was too young to enter too, but they'd both been there when Cedric had dropped his name into the fire.

"You should enter," Cho was constantly telling Selene, as if she had no idea that her friend was, A: underage and B: too young to rock a long white beard. "It would be really cool to have a Ravenclaw become Champion!"

Selene was about to answer, but she couldn't help but notice her brother slip out of the Entrance Hall, devoid of Crabbe, Goyle or any other one of his many friends. She quickly excused herself to Cho, leaving her watching the people clustering around of the Goblet, and went to find Draco.

The Slytherin was standing outside in the Courtyard, standing under one of the trees. The autumn red leaves were beginning to fall off the browned branches. He didn't look up from the ground as Selene made her way over to him.

"I saw you with that Weasley yesterday," he spat, still not looking up. Selene said nothing. "What are you doing?"

There was a pause.

"Nothing," Selene stated, after a heated second or two. "Draco, I promise. Nothing. He wanted help with his Defence Against the Dark Arts work, if you must know," she sighed, heavily, trying to convince her mind that George Weasley was nothing more than a filthy Blood Traitor. "You know I'd never fraternise with _their sort_ , anyway."

Draco relaxed somewhat and finally looked up from his shoes. "Good," he said, curtly, an unspoken understanding passing between them. "Just… Be careful."

"I am careful," Selene managed a smile, even through her manufactured distaste. "It's not my fault that I have to talk to him, anyway. Moody made us sit by one another."

With a smirk, Draco smoothed down the cuffs of his robes. "Poor you," he snickered. "Don't catch any diseases from them, now."

Selene managed a - somewhat strained - smile in return, and glanced back towards the Castle. "I won't," she smirked as she turned back to her younger brother. "Trust me, I won't. I don't spend a minute longer in their company than I absolutely have to."

"Glad to know you feel that way, _Malfoy_ ," a voice spat from their right. Selene jumped and immediately froze as soon as she saw the incredulous faces of the Weasley twins.

Oh Merlin. She hadn't known that they'd be anywhere close by to her, let alone right next to her. And now she'd basically shat all over them, their blood heritage and their right to function as non-contagious members of society. And Draco was practically _beaming_ right next to her. Of course he was, he thought she hated them both, and their entire family. When she actually thought of George as a friend, even if Fred was less receptive to her.

She needed to say something. Anything. As long as it didn't make Draco think that she'd been lying about everything. Which unfortunately meant that she couldn't go out and say that she hadn't meant any of what she'd just said. That she didn't want to lose more friends because of her family.

Instead, Selene just stood there, her eyes slowly dropping from George's face to the ground, where they rested on their shoes.

 _Don't cry don't cry don't cry-_

"I told you so," Fred drawled out, his mouth arranging into a smirk. "She's just a carbon copy of her mother. Hierarchical, snobbish, willing to open her legs for an-"

Selene grabbed her wand from her pocket, holding it out in front of her, eyes flashing. "Don't you _dare_ say that about my mother!" she snapped, eyes glaring holes into the heads of the twins. "You don't know her. You can't say a damn thing. What makes you two so _special_ , anyway?"

George or Fred - Selene had lost count of who was who - chuckled derisively. "And I thought I could _trust_ you," ah. That would be George, then.

Selene started forward, grabbing George's robe collar and yanking him forward. She risked a sidelong glance at Draco, who was standing next to her, his face impassive, fist clenched in a pocket.

Her lips rested next to his ear. She took a deep breath. "I'm sorry," she whispered, hoping that the two single words conveyed everything they needed to. She didn't have a lot of time before Draco became suspicious, or engaged Fred in armed combat. "Meet me at midnight, on the Astronomy tower."

She let go of George quickly, adding a soft kick to the knees for good measure. To his credit, the twin showed no signs of having even comprehended what Selene had said. "Let's go, George," he scowled, storming off towards the Castle without even a second glance.

It took a moment for the realisation to sink in. She'd told Fred, the twin that despised her on principle, to meet her on the Astronomy tower at midnight. He probably thought she wanted some kind of sexual favour, or tryst. Not a massive apology, coupled with a brief explanation of why she was shitting on their family.

Also, why did Fred think that he could trust her when he'd been so… Arseholey towards her before? Why did he think that? Surely that should have been George's line. But the two were so similar, so identical in everything, that Selene's mind was swimming at the mere prospect of attempting to tell the pair apart.

"Sorry about that, Draco," she managed eventually. "You just can't get rid of the scum, sometimes."

oOo

"Welcome!" Dumbledore called and the hall immediately became silent. "The time has come for the Goblet of Fire to choose its three competitors! If your name is called, I ask you to walk up this hall to the room to the left of this, exiting through the door to the left of the top table."

"Good luck," Selene whispered to Fleur, adding in a small smile of encouragement. The French girl simply nodded in return, squeezing Selene's hand tightly.

The Goblet glowed bright green, before spitting out a few sparks and emitting a small sheet of paper into Dumbledore's outstretched hands. He unfurled it, scanned it for a second before a small smile played at the corners of his mouth.

"The champion for Beauxbatons Academy." He read aloud. "Is Fleur Delacour!"

Selene beamed, grinning at her friend as she climbed to her feet. Fleur, for her part, looked strikingly confident as she walked down the gap between the Ravenclaw and Gryffindor tables, head held high.

The Goblet glowed bright green again, and many people were shushed by their classmates as Dumbledore began to read out the name on the second sheet of paper. "The champion for Durmstrang is Viktor Krum!"

"It's Krum!" Ron yelled above the great noise that was coming from the Durmstrang students. "It's obvious he would be the champion!"

"The champion for Hogwarts is Cedric Diggory!" Dumbledore said but was barely heard above the ecstatic screams of the Hufflepuffs. Cho cheered loudly, shooting Cedric a winning smile as he walked past them. Selene whistled through her fingers, trying not to be too disappointed that it hadn't been a Ravenclaw champion.

"Imagine if he asks me to dance at the ball!" Cho squealed, grabbing Selene's arm. She winced, and prised the other's fingers off her sleeve, feeling the indentations of Cho's nails with an inaudible sigh. There would be bruises there, come the next day, for sure.

"Of course he will," Selene muttered, rolling her eyes up to the enchanted ceiling. "Like I said, Cho, you've got him eating out of your hand."

"Really?!" Cho beamed, turning to her best friend. "Do you really mean that?"

Selene was too busy dealing with Cho's incessant happiness to notice when the Goblet glowed green for the fourth time. Gradually, the hall emptied of any noise and Selene and Cho returned their attention to Dumbledore, who was staring incredulously at the sheet of parchment in his hand.

"Harry Potter."

oOo

Why was she here?

The night was freezing cold again, and it felt like Selene's nose was going to drop right off her face and onto the floor. She shivered slightly, slumping against a wall and checking her watch.

8 minutes past midnight.

She hadn't expected Fred (or was it George?) to actually come. Especially if it had been the wrong twin, she'd said some pretty horrible things about them and their family, and if she'd been them she wouldn't have forgiven her easily.

Oh, and she'd pointed a wand at their throats. And almost strangled one of them with their collar. There wasn't much in her favour, honestly. Unless Fred/George was actually expecting sex, which would make the whole encounter a little bit awkward. Selene was not going to give out her body just to win back one friend.

Why was she here, again? Neither of them were coming, she'd known that. They were probably both downstairs getting drunk and listening to the Weird Sisters. There was no way that they'd come up here to indulge her fantasy that she hadn't completely wrecked another friendship.

Selene slumped down to the ground, staring at the wall on the opposite side of the room. Life just wasn't fair. Not to her, not to Draco, not to the Weasleys. It was just a complete shitshow.

"...you wanted to see me?"

Selene jolted, eyes glancing up to the face of one of the twins. Fred or George was half dappled in the moonlight, eyebrows raised and eyes wide. It looked like they'd just spent a good few hours toasting to Harry's success, his hair was tousled and messy. Just messy enough to be cute rather than stupid.

The twin cleared his throat, and Selene realised that she'd been caught staring. "Oh," she said dumbly, quickly getting to her feet. "Um… Yes. I just, erm… I just wanted to apologise."

Fred/George slowly lowered his guard, regarding Selene with slightly calmer eyes. "Sure," he said, nodding. "You did whisper that in my ear," the twin winked, taking the Ravenclaw aback somewhat. "No, I was after what you wanted to say."

"Before I even start that," Selene blurted out, crossing her arms over her chest. "Which one are you? Fred or George?"

"Fred," the twin replied, smirking somewhat. "Surprised, _Malfoy?_ "

"Yes," Selene retorted back, without missing a single beat. "You said that you thought you could trust me. What did you mean by that?"

Fred paused as if contemplating his answer. "I don't like you," he disclaimed, quickly. "You're a Malfoy. But George trusts you. Hell, George likes you. So I kind of have to trust you. Of course, you had to go and fuck that all up…"

"That's why I'm here," Selene quickly cut in. "I just… Wanted to explain."

"Explain what?" A raise of an eyebrow. "From what I heard, you made it very clear. You just aren't interested in being friends with my twin at all. In fact, you think we're _Blood Traitors._ "

"I lied, okay?" Selene snapped, taking a step closer to Fred, who finally had the grace to at least look a little taken aback. "I. Lied. Everyone lies at some point in their life. It's not a big deal."

The Astronomy tower fell silent. Fred looked more than a little confused, but as he opened his mouth to speak, Selene cut across him. "Before you say a single thing," she added, eyes flashing. "No. No, I don't care how I made you or George feel. Not right now. I _had to."_

"You didn't _have to_ ," Fred snapped back. "Do you have any idea how shitty George was feeling? He likes you. _He. Likes. You._ And you went and fucking-"

"I. Lied," Selene repeated, narrowing her gaze. "Merlin, how hard is it for you to grasp that idea? I like George. I was just saying those things to Draco to stop him telling my parents that I'm hanging out with the _Weasley family_."

Fred crossed his arms and leant back against his wall. "Well," he said coldly. "You still called us _blood traitors_."

"So what?" Selene rolled her eyes. "It's a _name._ It means _nothing at all._ It meant nothing at all. I didn't… Mean it…"

The Gryffindor laughed drily, not meeting Selene's eyes. "I don't even know why I'm here…" he muttered. "George thinks I've gone to Hogsmede to get some more Firewhiskey."

"How would you even get to Hogsmeade at this time of night?" Selene enquired, before noting Fred's expression. "But I digress. Just… Give me a few more minutes. Please."

Fred sighed and finally dragged his eyes back up to Selene's. "Two," he said, holding up his thumb and forefinger. "I can't be arsed to deal with Pureblood Supremacist bullshit today."

Is that who he thought she was? "The Top Box," she said quickly, suddenly aware of the time constraints pushed upon her. "You remember me from there?"

It took a while - too long - for Fred to nod, almost reluctantly. "And did I, at any point, make any impression that I was uncomfortable or angry with you being there?" she continued, raising her blonde eyebrow.

"That's beside the point," Fred groaned. "Honestly, Malfoy, don't you understand? It's not what you did then. You still think that we're all filthy Blood Traitors. And you pretty much broke my twin's heart with it."

The ginger boy turned to leave, not even sparing a second glance behind his back. Selene panicked, grasping at threads of conversation, anything she could say that would stop Fred from just walking away.

"My father's Dark Mark is reappearing," she blurted out. She'd really done it now. She'd admitted that her dad was a Death Eater, and that she knew about it, as well as the secret that her family were trying so hard to conceal. Lucius Malfoy was terrified that the Dark Lord might return someday, especially as he'd defected the moment that Lily Potter had hit the ground. And, now, Fred was turning back around, fury in his gaze.

"What about yours?" he snarled. "Are you going to join the Death Eaters in their sick little games? Face it, your precious Lord is never coming back. The best you can do is dangle helpless _Muggles_ in the air, like some twisted _game_ -"

"Just because I'm a Malfoy doesn't mean I'm a Death Eater," Selene said quietly. "Also, I was three when You Know Who disappeared. That's too young to join their ranks."

If Fred was pacified by this, he didn't show it. He looked Selene up and down, the corner of his mouth twitching in disgust. "I don't know how George could have ever wanted to be friends with you," he said, with no emotion in his tone. "You're no better than them."

Selene didn't protest as he finally walked away, even though she could feel another piece of her heart slowly breaking off.


	10. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: A Lesson

Mad-Eye's Sixth year Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson the next day was awkward, to say the very least. At least for three people, and two in particular.

It was Selene's prerogative to make George uncomfortable, but when the Gryffindor finally found his way to the fourth floor classroom, he was dismayed to see that she had already taken her seat.

She said nothing as the twin slowly pulled his chair out and dropped his bag onto the top of the desk. The books inside made a thumping sound as the bag hit the wood, but Selene remained motionless. After a few seconds, she looked up slowly, meeting George's gaze for half a second before she turned away from him again, back to her open textbook.

To his part, George said nothing, simply pulling out his books, quill and parchment, shooting a look at Fred, who was all the way over on the other side of the classroom. His twin shrugged, shooting back a tight, strained grin, rubbing the end of his nose.

Fred had said nothing about his midnight rendezvous with the Malfoy girl to his twin, even though George had noticed that something was up when he had returned with the Firewhiskey. To start off with, Fred had made excuses about Filch and Mrs Norris, but when George wasn't buying it, he simply shrugged the matter off and went to bed.

From what Fred Weasley knew of Selene Malfoy, he hadn't expected her to be _that_ honest with him. Lucius's Dark Mark was reappearing? What did that mean? He refused to think about the obvious connotation - because You-Know-Who was dead, Harry had killed him all those years ago.

As for Malfoy being a member of the Death Eaters herself, he was still convinced that his assumption was correct. For one thing, he knew that the Malfoys were related to the Lestrange family. Surely Malfoy, the niece of the only official female Death Eater, would at least be connected to them in some way, other than family loyalty? For all he knew, Selene idealised her aunt Bellatrix, and had similar murderous tendencies to boot. She seemed like the perfect image of a Pureblood woman, eyes cold and blue, an exterior that reminded Fred exactly of Narcissa Malfoy herself. Who knew what Malfoy had done during the War? Who knew what she remembered?

Fred glanced across at his twin again, who was poring over his book, obviously in an effort to ignore the Pureblood heiress to his left. He sighed, and shook his head to himself, ignoring the strange look it garnered from his partner. George was always too trusting, too accepting. He believed too many tales, read too many positives into false stories. At least George had him around, to pull him away from his intrinsically gullible nature. And he wasn't talking to Malfoy anymore, which was the best outcome he could hope for.

Still, something didn't seem quite right. Surely Malfoy was lying, in some capacity? Fred just didn't trust her, just as he didn't trust any scheming Slytherin wannabe. Ravenclaw she may be made out to be, she still acted and looked like a Slytherin to him. Anyone with words that cutting and eyes that freezing was as good as the rest of the snake scum.

Fred dismissed the memory of the panic in her eyes, as she stood on the top of the Astronomy, begging him to give her a second chance and believe her words. It was just a ruse, a ploy, to get his father out of a job and exploit their family for her amusement. She knew they didn't have as much money as a family as her own. She obviously disapproved of their friendliness towards Muggles and Muggleborns, she'd said as much in the courtyard. To her, the Weasley family were nothing but Blood Traitors. He couldn't forgive her that, no matter how much she pled.

When the class was over, and everyone was filing out, Fred couldn't help but notice how Malfoy stopped, to try and grab George's attention. She was ignored, and George walked right past her, not even giving her the time of day. To her credit, she squared her shoulders, and fell into step alongside Cho Chang, the pretty Scottish Ravenclaw, but her swift, upset glance at her deskmate betrayed her.

"Good lesson?" Fred asked of his twin, as they walked down the corridor, heading for the Grand Staircase, and for lunch.

"Excellent," George grinned, winking at an unsuspecting Third year as they strolled past. "You just have to hand it to the man, Moody just _gets it_."

"True," Fred chuckled, running a hand through his hair. It was getting rather long, which he was enjoying. It was a shame that his mother would inevitably make him cut it all off. He was anticipating a pair of scissors awaiting him as soon as he returned home for Christmas. "Lupin was alright, and all, but Moody has that _spark_."

"Lupin was a nutter," George snickered to himself. "A good teacher, but still a nutter. Shame he turned out to be a Werewolf, in the end, I think he rather liked us."

"D'ya reckon he knows Bagman?" Fred asked, an idea forming in his mind. "I mean, if we had _Lupin_ on our side against that thieving dickwad, an ex-Professor-"

"Fred," George raised an eyebrow at his twin, seemingly very confused. "Are you sure you're okay? That would _never_ work. _Never_. Lupin always played by the rules, I doubt he'd approve of gambling long enough to help us out, mate."

Fred sighed, and begrudgingly nodded. "I suppose you're right, Georgie," he grinned, slightly awkwardly. "He always did need to pull that broomstick out of his arse a little."

"What is _up_ with you?" George asked of his twin, furrowing his brow, patting Fred on the back. "You've been on edge ever since last night. _And_ you went up to bed early, during a party! Are you completely sure that nothing's the matter?"

Should he tell his twin about his conversation with Malfoy? Somehow it didn't seem like George would react particularly well to the news, so Fred kept schtum. "Honestly, I'm fine," Fred insisted, shaking his head and allowing himself a jovial smile. "I promise. Nothing's the matter with me."

"Bullshit," George rolled his eyes for good measure. "Fred, something is obviously up with you. Remember, I've been with you since the womb, you can't fool me." He sighed, and paused at the bottom of the staircase, leaning against the banister. "Freddie," he paused after this nickname, as if contemplating something. "Is this… About what Malfoy said?"

"Kind of," Fred didn't wait, continuing into the Entrance Hall, and through the great oak doors for lunch. "Partially, I guess. Not entirely."

"She isn't worth your thoughts," George replied adamantly. "She obviously hates the very thought of us, it isn't worth your time to worry about. She's no better than her parents, or her brother, or any of her family."

"Yeah," Fred nodded along to this, biting his tongue as he considering bringing up the events of the night before. "Just… Why did you trust her, before?"

They had reached the Gryffindor table by this point, George's reply dying in his throat upon the site of food. Fred didn't press the subject, taking a seat next to Angelina Johnson, and leaning forward to listen to her conversation with Alicia Spinnet about the Harpies victory against the Falcons. Oh, and take a generous helping of Shepherd's Pie.

He was just being paranoid, he knew it. And George was right, Malfoy wasn't worth his thoughts. She never was, and she never would be.

oOo

"Cedric doesn't actually want people to wear the 'Potter Stinks' badges," Cho narrowed her eyes at Marietta, who had been in the process of attaching one to the front of her robes. "Seriously, don't wear them."

"Eet ez a leetle humiliating," Fleur protested, from Selene's left. "Ee ees too young, non?"

"He's way too young," Selene nodded, cutting up her toast into a million tiny squares. "It's just… Surely he wouldn't have done that? He doesn't seem like the type to willingly throw himself into danger, not really."

"You've never talked to him," Cho mentioned, rolling her eyes. "Ever. How would you know? Maybe he's a massive attention whore."

"Intuition," Selene replied drily, standing up and grabbing her bag. "Somehow I don't feel like a thirteen year old boy would square off against a Basilisk willingly. I'll see you all in a bit, I need to go and find Draco."

In all honesty, she didn't really want to spend much time with her friends today. Cho was too busy obsessing over Cedric to care all that much about anything that wasn't Tournament related, and Marietta was just being petty. And Fleur was Fleur, it was nice to see her but at the same time, her constant haughty insistence that Harry was lying about not putting his name in the Goblet (and that 'ee es too young, non?') was grating on her nerves.

It was freezing cold outside, so Selene murmured a warming charm to keep her arms from falling off. That would be a tragedy. She wasn't lying when she said she needed to find Draco, she definitely had a bone or two to pick with him over the badges. They were definitely uncalled for, even if Harry had willingly chosen to enter the Tournament.

And it didn't take her a long time to find him, either.

"Alastor!" Professor McGonagall was saying, rushing forwards towards where the Defence Professor was standing, his back to Selene. "We do _not_ use Transfiguration on students as punishment! Surely Professor Dumbledore told you that!"

It was highly illegal, even. In _Hogwarts: A History_ , there was a chapter solely dedicated to the punishments at Hogwarts through the ages, and the ones that were currently outlawed. Transfiguration had been banned in the early 20th Century.

Selene walked forward, arms crossed, as Moody transfigured the unlucky student back to their normal form. She froze as soon as she realised it was Draco who had been on the end of the spell, and rushed forward, kneeling down next to him on the ground.

"Are you okay?" she asked quickly, pulling her wand from her pocket and glancing around. "What happened? What did you do?"

Harry Potter and Ron Weasley were standing, a little distance away, both chuckling away to themselves, although that was slowly dying down as they noticed Selene's furious expression.

"You think it's _funny_?" she spat, getting to her feet again, slipping her wand back into her pocket. "He could have been _killed_ , and you're _laughing_?"

Both Professor McGonagall and Professor Moody had disappeared, obviously assuming that the present company assembled were capable of managing the problem themselves. Selene let out a long held breath, and walked up to the two boys, taking advantage of her one or two inch height advantage on them. "I'll take thirty points from Gryffindor," she said coldly, tapping her Prefect badge as Ron began to protest. "No, Mr Weasley, I will."

"Malfoy-" the third of their trio, Hermione Granger, piped up, but Selene cut across her protest in an instant.

"I don't want to hear it," she glared. "When a student's life is endangered, it would be prudent to assist them, rather than standing there and laughing."

"He hexed us!" Harry protested, ignoring Selene's icy gaze. "He tried to, at least."

"Well, then no harm is done," Selene said quietly, shaking her head in their direction. "I'm still taking thirty points. And, next time, think about the consequences before you act so callously."

Draco had been watching this scene unfold with a measure of disbelief in his eyes, but upon his sister's final statement, he quickly slipped away, eyeing Potter and Weasley as he went to join Crabbe, Goyle and Zabini, the lattermost of which was quickly wiping away tears of mirth.

This left Selene on her own in the middle of the courtyard, getting several dirty looks from quite a few of the other assembled Gryffindors who had been watching her brother get Transfigured. She dusted the bottom of her robes down and adjusted her tie, straightening her back a little as she walked away, willing the heat to not rise to her cheeks. It was amazing, sometimes, how judgemental people could be. She just wanted to keep her brother safe, was that simply too much to ask? Especially in the current climate, she could very well end up being his last defence.

"Watch where you're going, _Malfoy_ ," a worryingly familiar voice spat, as Selene turned the corner and walked straight into a tall, solid mass. She winced as she realised the owner of the voice - or the possible owner. "Not content with killing off our fun?"

George/Fred was glaring at her like she'd just killed his Puffskein, elbowing past her without a second thought, leaving the Ravenclaw standing there, staring after him with an empty feeling in the pit of her stomach. That was a friend that she'd lost. And one she probably would never get back.


	11. Chapter 10

**I finished my A-levels last week, so I decided to update some of my Fanfictions. This is top of the priority list, mostly because it's the one I'm most interested in, but if you want me to sell my soul and update Unconditionally, drop me a review to let me know and I mighttttt do it. Maybe.**

Chapter 10: Change of Plan

The day of the First Task of the Triwizard Tournament dawned with a cloudless sky and a harsh breeze sweeping over the grounds of Hogwarts. The delegations of Beauxbatons shivered in their mink furs and muffs as they made their way up to the castle, whilst the students from Durmstrang marched on, seemingly unfazed by what British weather had to throw at them.

The Great Hall was filled with glinting green 'Potter Stinks' badges, with the few Hogwarts students that weren't sporting the emblem cautiously avoiding the gazes of those who were. When Selene entered the Hall for breakfast that morning, her brother gave her a nod, and a slight smirk, his own green badge morphing from Cedric's awkwardly smiling face to Harry's explosion of foul-looking gunk as he did so.

"That brother of yours is a real piece of work," Cho fumed, giving Selene a sideways glance as they took their assumed places at the Ravenclaw table. "Honestly, Harry didn't _ask_ for any of this, he's the least enthusiastic Triwizard Champion ever."

"I wouldn't be so sure," Selene cut in, resting her elbow on the tabletop. "Father was telling Draco and I about one of the Champions from 1792 - by that time, the Tournament was so notorious that they barely _ever_ wanted to compete, and those that did were typical Gryffindors."

"What else did your father tell you?" Marietta asked, leaning forward over her plate. "He's very high up in the Ministry, isn't he? He probably told you what the Tasks are, at least."

"No, he didn't," Selene admitted, spearing a piece of bacon with her fork. "You know what he's like. Didn't want me to put my name in the Goblet, as if I would anyway." Although that was most likely more out of a sense of obligation towards the Nott family than anything else. Marriage agreements still counted for a lot in Pureblood circles.

"Bully for you," Marietta continued, her voice falling to a hush as a large round of applause erupted from around the room. "Sssssh! Cedric!"

Cho immediately got to her feet, joining in the rapturous clapping, shooting Cedric a special smile of her own making. The Triwizard Champion blushed a little, avoiding her gaze as he took his seat, just as Fleur entered the room and received similar treatment.

"But that's not what the _real_ gossip is," Marietta piped up again, eyeing Selene beadily. "What is _up_ with you and George Weasley? We all thought you were the best of friends. Now you… Well, you're ignoring each other!"

Selene stifled a slightly affronted laugh, moving her blonde hair off her face. "We were never friends, Marietta," she couldn't resist a roll of her eyes with this. "And you know how it is. With my family, and his, we weren't going to remain chummy for long."

"Don't tell me you've bought into all that Pureblood bullshit now, Selene," Cho interjected. "George isn't a bad sort, really. Fred's the one you've got to watch out for."

"Tell me about it," Selene grumbled, cutting a piece of bacon in half with perhaps a little more force than was strictly necessary. "Shame I can't even tell them apart. Otherwise I'd know which one to be mean to."

Cho opened her mouth to add something else, but Fleur had reached her seat at this point, placing herself down delicately, between the two friends. "Worried?" she chose to ask instead, tilting her head somewhat, eyes widening as she took in Fleur's paler-than-usual face.

"Yes," the French girl replied, somewhat curtly, immediately turning to her food. Selene shrugged, placing one half of her bacon into her mouth, effectively cutting off all offers of conversation. Affronted, Cho picked up her plate, and walked over to the Hufflepuffs, and to Cedric, who was already surrounded by many adoring fans.

"But _really_ , Selene," Marietta continued, speaking through a mouthful of freshly buttered toast. "You don't have to be cruel to the poor boy. Your dad doesn't have a 24/7 hold on your life. You can have fun, y'know?"

"I was _not_ having fun with the Weasley twins," Selene coughed, prompting a somewhat condescending pat on the back from Marietta. "I wouldn't touch them with a ten foot Hippogriff. And I'm coming up to seventeen. I have better things to be looking forward to than boys." Including a possible arranged marriage, but she elected not to mention that somewhat touchy point.

"What _ever_ you say," Marietta sighed, prompting Fleur to look up from her furious eating. "But I'll tell you now, _I_ would not turn down a night with those two…"

"Come weeth me," Fleur interrupted, getting to her feet and holding out one hand to Selene, ignoring Marietta's furious gaze. "I need to talk to you. _Maintenant._ "

Selene knew full well not to argue with the Frenchwoman, even when it caused her to leave half a plate of bacon untouched, so she pushed it over to the centre of the table, and climbed to her own feet. "Of course," she said, but raised one curious eyebrow.

"Not 'ere," Fleur hissed, looking around. "I do not trust these Eenglish."

Despite the fact that Selene was among these 'Eenglish', along with the majority of her close friends and family members, she let Fleur enjoy her badly disguised bigotry, as the pair walked into the Entrance Hall, and from there into the grounds. The part-Veela immediately shivered, and wrapped her cardigan more tightly around her arms.

"Dragons," she said simply, hurrying off into the grass, leaving Selene to jog to catch up with her.

"What do you mean, 'Dragons'," Selene demanded, brow furrowing, as she crossed her arms over her chest. "The Task?"

" _Oui_ , the Task!" Fleur stopped dead in her tracks, spinning on her heel, eyes wild. "'Ow am _I_ meant to fight _Dragons_!"

"With a wand?" Selene suggested, raising a single eyebrow. "How did you find out?"

" _Madame_ told me," Fleur admitted, continuing her march towards the tents, and the stands, albeit at a slower pace. "'Agrid, that groundskeeper, 'e showed 'er. But I 'aven't 'ad any idea 'ow to fight a dragon!"

Selene's mind whirred, trying to think of a million different ways to defeat a dragon. And came up with none. It wasn't really a taught subject at Hogwarts, as dragons were usually kept under chains by those who could wrangle them, and, as a result, were rarely seen in the wild of Wizarding England. Lupin had been thorough, but not thorough enough, as it seemed. And Gilderoy Lockhart had neglected their Third Year Dark Magical Creatures course in favour of having them all sign his photos for him.

"I don't know either," she admitted, after a few minutes, laying a hand on her friend's shoulder to stop her entering the Champion's tent. "Just… Be careful, alright?"

Fleur seemed unsure, but nodded, quickly enveloping Selene in a swift, strawberry-scented hug. "I'll think of something," she released a breath, before a small glint emerged from one eye. "Oh, _oui._ I will do _much_ better than your 'Ogwarts Champions, _non?_ "

"Without a doubt," Selene replied, somewhat doubtfully, thinking of Cedric's Transfiguration abilities. "Good luck, Fleur," she added, with a smile, before letting go of Fleur's shoulder. She watched the girl enter the tent, before turning away, looking up at the stands, which were slowly filling up with students.

A divide had emerged in the Hogwarts stands, with a small majority on one side holding a banner with Harry's face boldly emblazoned upon it. The other side, of course, bore mostly lurid green badges so far, but Selene knew that Cho and Marietta had a large banner of their own up their sleeves.

Climbing up the stairs reminded Selene a little of the World Cup, which brought a small smile to her face. Despite the awkward tension between the Weasley family and her own, the match had been a remarkable one. She was no Quidditch mega-fan, but she could appreciate a good team, and Moran had pulled out some amazing moves that Selene was hoping she could try to replicate in a match herself.

"Didn't know you were a Harry fan, Malfoy," George and Fred Weasley stood right in front of her, freckled faces turning to stony anger, as they watched her ascend the wooden stairs.

"I'm not," Selene replied curtly, eyeing them both with a steely gaze. "This way was just closer."

" _Sure_ it was," George/Fred said mockingly, leaning against the stair rail. "You're no better than your brother, you know, Malfoy. You're just as slimy, even without the hair gel. Were you just being nice to my brother to make fun of us behind my back with your Slytherin friends?"

Ah, so that was Fred. George, to his credit, was standing somewhat back, not adding much to the conversation, but Selene still took the offensive. "Let me _through_ , Weasley," she snapped, crossing her arms. "I haven't done anything to you. You didn't even _listen_ to what I had to say! You're making a bigger deal of this than it needs to be."

"A bigger deal?" Fred laughed and rolled his eyes. "Don't kid us, Malfoy. We don't take kindly to anyone calling anyone a Blood Traitor."

"For the last time, that was a _mistake_ ," Selene retorted, starting forward, pressing one finger into the redhead's chest. "Now get the fuck out of my way before I levitate you both."

Fred threw up his arms in mock defeat, eyes glinting, moving away from her and back to the side of his twin. "Calm down, we weren't going to hurt you," he sniggered. "You get quite pretty when you're angry."

"For the last time, _move_!" Selene snarled, pulling her wand from her pocket and pointing it at the pair. "I just want to _get_ to my fucking _seat_ , you arrogant arseholes!"

"Now now, Miss Malfoy," a third voice entered the conversation, causing Selene to quickly lower her wand, and the twins to look at each other in slight horror. "Were the Weasleys causing you trouble?"

"Oh, no, Professor," Selene replied quickly, turning to look at the Potions teacher, affixing a slightly wooden smile to her face. "I was just… Speaking to them."

"Is that so?" Snape replied silkily, looking at the pair. "Well, I trust your judgement, Miss Malfoy… Even so, I will have to take five points from Gryffindor, Mr Weasley, Mr Weasley. You are blocking the stairwell."

"That isn't fair, Professor!" George burst out, looking appealingly at his brother. "Malfoy was blocking the stairwell as well!"

"I doubt that highly, Mr Weasley," Snape raised an eyebrow. "Miss Malfoy is a Prefect, I doubt she would be so irresponsible."

Selene bit the inside of her cheek, glancing behind her to look at the twins. "Even so, I don't think your reasoning _is_ fair, Professor," she piped up. "After all, I did stop to speak to them too, which caused them to block the way. Unless you'd like me to take the matter up with my father?"

"Ah, no, that won't be necessary, Miss Malfoy," Snape replied quickly, giving the twins a narrow eyed glance. If there was one person Snape liked, it was her father (who knew the reason why), and she knew that he would do anything to get on Lucius Malfoy's good side. "Yes, yes… Weasley, Weasley, Miss Malfoy… You can all go."

The twins begrudgingly stepped to the side to allow Selene and the Professor passage up the rest of the stairs. As Selene walked past the pair, she caught Fred's eye, and gave him a small nod, not waiting for it to be reciprocated before she continued up to the stands.

Unbeknownst to her, the look that was exchanged between the pair behind her back was one of slight admiration, rather than disgust. "At least she knows the bro code," Fred muttered, after a second, before continuing down the stairs, and, hopefully, to another waiting Harry poster.

oOo

The celebrations at Hogwarts were uproarious that evening, with the sound of booming music from Gryffindor tower reverberating around the castle several times over. Cedric's celebrations, for a well deserved second place, were slightly less echoing, but still just as joyous, with the knowledge that Hogwarts could easily take home a Hufflepuff victory on the table.

Selene's enjoyment of the festivities was somewhat overlooked by the envelope lying on her bed, awaiting her arrival after the end of the First Task. Whilst Cho and Marietta, and Sarah, the fourth girl in the Ravenclaw Sixth Year Girl's Dormitory, all glammed themselves up for the upcoming celebration, the Malfoy heiress was sitting on the corner of her bed, tearing open the embossed envelope.

 _My dearest daughter Selene,_

 _As you well know, the Yule Ball is coming up, and it requires of you a great service. I have ordered you a set of dress robes I deem appropriate for the occasion, and one I hope you will deem acceptable as well._

Selene reached inside the envelope to pull out a receipt from Messer's Dress Robes, glancing over the price with little surprise, before slipping it back into the envelope.

 _Also, as I'm sure you would have guessed, I will ask of you to accept Theodore Nott's invitation to the Ball. It will do good for you both to spend time together, and I'm sure his father will be pleased to hear of any developments._

 _Please write back to me soon, and kindly ask your brother to respond to his letters too. I'm concerned about him._

 _Your loving mother,_

 _Narcissa._

Loving? Selene stifled a snigger as she placed the letter onto her bedside table and lay back on the four-poster bed. Just like her mother to be straightforward and to the point, with a few words of concern only afforded for darling Draco.

The prospect of letting Nott accompany her to the Yule Ball was repulsive, not only was he two years younger, but he was not someone she would willingly date. His expression seemed to be impassionate at all times, and the prospect of an upcoming betrothal was even worse. But she wasn't about to argue with her parents, especially when it seemed unlikely that anyone else would be interested in taking her.

After all, Roger was now much more interested in Fleur, especially after Selene had accidentally let it slip that she was quarter-Veela.

"Selene?" Cho yelled from the bathroom. "Are you actually coming to this party?"

Selene took one look at her letter, and shook her head to herself. "I'm not feeling great," she called back, not offering any more explanation before getting to her feet, slipping on some shoes and heading out of the dorm, the door banging behind her.

The castle was silent, which was hardly surprising, considering the late time of night, and the worry that Filch would be on the trail of any potential rule breaker. Normally. Selene wouldn't be out this late either, but the cool air and the silence soothed her, slightly, and took her mind away from the letter at hand.

She found herself walking, not back to her dormitory, but in the direction of the Astronomy Tower, and the clear, cloudless night that she knew awaited her there. Sometimes you just had to get up high to think straight, and as much as the quiet of the castle unnerved her, it was relaxing to be alone with her thoughts.

"Sickle for your thoughts?"

Selene jumped, and turned, face freezing as she met the eyes of… Well, one of the Weasley twins. "They're worth at least a Galleon," she responded, crossing her arms over her chest, a familiar gesture. "What are you doing out here, Weasley? It's past curfew."

"I should ask you the same question," Fred/George retorted, rolling his eyes. He gestured to the large crate of Firewhiskey in his arms. "What does it look like? Someone had to get the drinks around here."

"How did yo- you know what? Never mind," Selene sighed, standing to one side and gesturing down the hall. "Go on, Weasley. Get back to Gryffindor Tower."

"Nahhh," he responded, surprisingly cheerfully. "No - I wanted to thank you. For what you did for us earlier. With Snape. I didn't know you had the balls to speak to a teacher like that."

"Professor Snape's an old family friend," Selene shrugged. "He would lick my father's feet if he asked him to. I would be remiss if I didn't take advantage of that from time to time, even if it is usurping my duties as Ravenclaw Prefect."

"Still," the Weasley twin persisted, rubbing at his ear. "Even if you are a Malfoy, and a bit of an arse, I wanted to thank you."

Selene stood in the corridor, somewhat stunned, silent for the next few moments, thinking of a good response to the unexpected apology. "You're welcome," she spluttered out, after a second or two longer than was probably polite. "Just don't be an arsehole and stand in my way with your twin next time. Then we won't have an issue."

"Oh, we'll always have an issue, Malfoy," the twin scowled slightly, although it seemed mostly sarcastic. "I've just decided to give you a second chance, that's all."

"Just so it's clear," Selene cut in, just as the Weasley began to walk off again. "We aren't friends. I don't want to be friends with you or your brother. You Gryffindors are more trouble than you're worth. I'd just appreciate not having a couple of bad storm clouds hitting out at me whenever I try to walk down the stairs."

"Whatever you say, Malfoy," the twin cracked a grin, patting the girl on the shoulder as he continued to walk away. "You aren't slimy. You're just dry. Like a stale biscuit. Me and George - we're like butter. Silky smooth. We'll soften you up right."

Selene just shook her head in disbelief as Fred sped off down the corridor, speed walking as quickly as the crate of Firewhiskey would allow him. What had just happened? She had no idea, but the metaphorical olive branch had appeared to have been extended.

Even if she would have to dance with the short, and unfortunately stout, Theodore Nott at a ball she was meant to enjoy, it seemed that there were two fewer Weasleys out to get her in this world, and that was a blessing she had to accept. Maybe even enjoy. After all, Marietta wasn't wrong.


	12. Chapter 11

**Thank you so much to the Guest reviewer who reviewed the last chapter! Thank you for the compliments (hee hee) - I'm glad you notice changes, I started writing Unconditionally four years ago, and I'm eighteen now, so I like to think I'm a more mature writer (if that makes any sense at all). Reading back Unconditionally, I don't think Selene was a great character, at least in my first few chapters, and I definitely made her too likeable.**

 **Not to mention the fact that I mentioned all my P.O.V. changes. But I digress. Truly, thank you! I hope you enjoy this chapter just as much.**

Chapter 11: Dirty Tactics

If you mentioned 'Yule' to a group of people, not many would immediately think of a massive, magical Ball. Maybe they'd be thinking of Christmas trees, or massive log cakes, or cold halls filled with the slight warmth from a fire. But no, not a dance. Yet, that was the case with this particular Christmas holiday.

"Oh, Selene!" Cho gushed, pulling down the poster from the Ravenclaw Common Room noticeboard. "A ball! Can you just _imagine_ how fun that'll be!"

"Not really, no," Selene sighed, tugging the leaflet from her friend's rapturous fists, and pinning it back up. "I can't see it being fun at all." Not least because Theodore Nott had been giving her some very pointed leers across the Great Hall at breakfast that morning.

"You are _not_ getting out of this!" Cho insisted, grabbing Selene's hand. "I'm sure you can find a date. Roger would go with literally any girl, or you could just go on your own- although that would be a bit sad."

"What's wrong with someone going to a dance on their own?" Selene rolled her eyes, pulling her hand away. "Look, I'll be staying at Hogwarts this Christmas anyway. I'll come, but you are _not_ allowed to pull me down to Hogsmeade for a 'full makeover'. Take Marietta."

Cho pouted and crossed her arms in mock annoyance. "But _Selene_ ," she winged. "If you just put a _little_ more effort into your appearance, you'd be fighting the boys off!"

"Really?" Selene couldn't resist another roll of her eyes. "Cho, darling, you do know that I'm the the 'Ice Queen'? Boys don't like me because I don't like them. And, apparently," her voice dropped to a hushed whisper. "There's a large slab of snow where my heart should be."

"Make way, make way, ladies!" Roger called cheerfully, the crowd of younger year Ravenclaws parting like the Red Sea. "Ah, Malfoy, Chang… My two favourite fellow Quidditch players!"

"What do you want, Davies?" Cho questioned, turning to face the newcomer. "Have you seen the poster?"

"Yup!" Roger replied, giving the girl a dazzling, if somewhat creepy, grin. "Excited, Chang? Malfoy, you look like a wet blanket. No boy will ask you to dance if you look that angry all the time."

"That's the plan," Selene sighed, trying not to think about Nott and his bulbous eyes. "What did you want, Davies? Other than to gas at us about the Ball, of course."

"We've organised a friendly against Gryffindor," Roger yawned, stretching his arms above his head. "You two free? We wanted to get one in before the littlies go off home."

By littlies, he meant the newest member of the team, thirteen-year-old Randolph Burrow, a Muggleborn, and a born Chaser. As they weren't letting anyone below fourth year join in with the Ball, most of the younger years were leaving for the Christmas period.

The lack of Quidditch matches had incensed so many of the Quidditch players (and fans) of Hogwarts, that Professor McGonagall had been forced to allow some friendly matches to be played at suitable times in the year, with the agreement that the organisation, refereeing, and scoring would be left down to the players, rather than the frankly overworked Professors.

"I'm up for that," Selene nodded, glancing at the watch on her wrist. "Right now?"

"Yes, right now," Roger replied, somewhat condescendingly, reaching out to pat the girl on the shoulder. "Unless you're not willing to compete against your new boyfriends."

"Why does _everyone_ think that I'm dating the fucking Weasley twins?" Selene pulled a face. "Shove off, Davies. I wouldn't go near them. I'm not a big fan of prickish, freckled redheads. Percy was the only half-decent one of that clan."

"Percy was a tosser," Cho rolled her eyes. "Penelope hasn't heard from him for weeks. He's just dropped her. Just like that! Like he's too good for her now he's got his high and mighty Ministry position."

Selene snickered to herself, remembering her father's less than complimentary words about the middle Weasley. "I said half-decent, not exactly likeable," she accompanied these words with another look at her watch. "Look, if you want this friendly, I'm going to have to go get changed and grab my broom. Meet you outside in fifteen?"

"Sure," Roger yawned again, shooting a wink at a third-year who was eyeing up his muscles rather admirably. "Can't make it ten? Or do you have to do your makeup for your twin lovers?"

"It'll be ten," Selene replied sourly, giving Roger a well-deserved stuck out tongue. "But don't blame me when I turn up with a stitch."

"Our Chasers need to be on the ball, Malfoy," Roger chuckled at his own joke before continued. "You should be keeping in shape!"

"Ten minutes," Selene repeated, looking sideways at Cho. "Come on. Let's show this idiot what good quality he's got on his team."

Indeed, when the pair arrived at the Quidditch pitch later that morning, Roger was, as of yet, nowhere to be seen. Instead, Cho and Selene arrived to a pitch mostly full of Gryffindor players, and their supporters, and a chillingly familiar face standing in the middle of the bunch.

"That's _cheating_ ," Cho said indignantly, cracking her knuckles. "They can't have _two_ Seekers!"

"Who would you rather play against?" Selene questioned, leaning up against her Nimbus 2001. "The fourteen-year-old boy superstar Harry Potter, who is obsessed with you, by the way, or Victor Krum, the saviour of the 1994 Quidditch World Cup?"

"Harry, without a doubt," Cho scrunched up her nose. "I have half a mind to march over to Johnson and ask her what the _hell_ she thinks she's doing!"

"If they use two Seekers, I will personally find Johnson and dangle her from the Whomping Willow," Selene swore, crossing her arms. "Look, our team has better brooms, better strategy - especially now Oliver Wood's gone - and better players. We're guaranteed a victory. If Krum joins in, it is foul play. This is a Hogwarts friendly, not a Hogwarts plus Durmstrang friendly."

"Jealous of our new Seeker, ladies?" George or Fred Weasley grinned, emerging from the crowd of Gryffindors with his twin, a broad smile affixed to both of their faces. "We'll win this match for sure."

"It's foul play!" Cho protested. "You can't just substitute a player. You have to go through _channels_. Unless the original Seeker is incapacitated or unable to play for whatever other reason, they must play the match or the whole team risks disqualification!"

"Ah, but Chang," the other twin cut in. "Do those rules apply to non-official matches as well?"

"They should," Selene interjected, raising an eyebrow. Both twins grinned in her direction, although it appeared to be more menacing than welcoming. "You know I can take points from Gryffindor for dirty tactics, right?"

"But you won't," the right twin, who appeared to be Fred, judging by the small red 'F' on the end of his broom. "Because you're a good 'un, aren't you?"

"Hurrumph," Selene grumbled. "If you have to descend to dirty tactics, then those brooms of yours must be even worse than they look."

The twins looked at each other, then down to their Cleansweep Sevens, then back to each other, then back to the blonde haired Malfoy standing in front of them. "Excuse me," they chorused, looking a lot less happy. "I'm sure these are just as good as yours," one of them added, pulling a face.

Selene gestured to her Nimbus 2001, enjoying the slowly sinking faces of the twins. "You were saying?" she asked jovially. "And Cho has a Cleansweep Eleven, don't you?"

"You don't have to be _mean_ , Selene," Cho whispered, looking awkwardly at the ground, avoiding looking at the twins. She leaned in closer to her friend's ear, before continuing. "Don't you know, they're _poor_. They probably couldn't afford anything better."

"Do you want to swap?" Selene said quickly, ignoring Cho's comment. She held out her broom, pulling out a small handkerchief from her pocket and wiping off some of the fingerprints that were visible on the varnished wood. "I'm sure I could beat you, even on a Cleansweep Seven."

The twins looked at each other again, before the one on the left reached out a hand for a handshake. "It's a deal, Malfoy," he said, waggling his eyebrows. "If you lose the game, you have to become our new test subject. Voluntary position, of course."

"What for?" Selene asked, brow furrowing, pulling her beloved broom away from the twins quickly. "What would you test me with?"

"Oh, nothing," the other twin said swiftly, as the first opened his mouth to speak. "But are you sure you're happy to ride a Cleansweep _Seven_?"

"Flying depends on the skill of the handler, not the broom," Selene shrugged, pushing away her misgivings and offering the first twin her broom again. "I'm sure I can make it work." After all, they weren't going to lose."

The first twin nodded, spitting into his hand before holding it out again. Noting the girl's disgusted expression, he sighed. "You do it, too, Ice Queen," he sniggered. "Unless you're scared of catching Blood Traitor germs."

"No, I'm not," Selene replied defensively, shaking her head to accompany her words. After a moment's more hesitation, she licked her hand awkwardly, before taking the Weasley's, grimacing at the wet, sticky sensation.

"That'll do, Malfoy, that'll do," the twin sighed, looking resigned. They shook hands, once, twice, three times, before Selene quickly wiped her palm on the grass, and passed over her Nimbus 2001. The Cleansweep she received in return, although worn, did seem well looked after.

"Fred?" Selene asked, looking at the twin, who was admiring her Nimbus 2001 with amazement. He looked up when he heard his name, before grinning.

"You're getting it, Malfoy," he beamed, nodding at George, who was standing some distance away, speaking to Angelina Johnson. "If I wasn't such a kind man, I'd think you knew our secret."

"I don't even _want_ to know," Selene grimaced again, crouching down once more and wiping her palm a little more thoroughly. "You're disgusting. The pair of you. Does your mother know how horrific your manners are?"

"Yes," Fred replied, grinning once more. "And she never stops telling us off for it."

"She must be a fucking saint," Selene muttered, already feeling a headache pulse at her temples. "You aren't using Krum though, really, are you?"

Fred just laughed, and a lead weight dropped in Selene's stomach. "Thankfully, he seems to like the company of a certain bushy haired Gryffindor," he said, still snickering, as he walked away.

oOo

Cho was not happy at the state of affairs. Even though the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw Chasers were very evenly matched, and Lee Jordan's commentary was slightly less barbed than usual, considering the lack of a Slytherin opponent, she was far outmatched by the Bulgarian Seeker.

Even though the Ravenclaw Chasers had scored three goals up on Gryffindor, the moment Krum saw the Snitch was the moment he caught it. Cho dismounted her broom, silently fuming, pushing her black hair out of her face. "Fucking _cheats_ ," she muttered darkly, turning away from the celebrations of the Gryffindors.

"Cheer up, Chang," Davies seemed nonplussed, compromising with a shrug. "They pulled dirty tactics, yes, but we got to play against a _professional_. How often do you get to say that?"

"Every day, Davies," Selene pointed out. "Considering Oliver Wood is playing for Puddlemere Reserves now, we can consider the last four years as playing against a professional." She looked down at the Cleansweep Seven and nodded to herself. Not a bad broom, if she was being honest with herself. It had nothing on her Nimbus, but it did the trick for a "friendly" match.

"Shut up, Malfoy," Davies replied, pushing Selene on the shoulder. "You take the fun out of everything, geez."

"Yes, _Malfoy_ ," the twins joined on now, their perfectly identical voices mimicking Davies's own. "You're such a spoilsport!"

"And you owe us a session of voluntary testing sessions," Fred (at least, Selene assumed it was still Fred) said, holding out Selene's Nimbus. "That broom is overrated. Fast? It hardly goes faster than our old Cleansweep Fives. How much did Daddy spend on it?"

"Ask him, not me," Selene sighed, gladfully taking her broom back from the freckled boy and checking it over for possible damage. "And you just don't know how to _use_ it, Weasley."

"Don't I?" Fred smirked, running his hands over his Cleansweep Seven. "Have you had first-hand experience, now, Malfoy? Or have you heard tales of my apparent ineptitude."

She'd really made a bed for herself now. Selene pushed her blonde hair out of her face and looked Fred square in the eye. "No," she said, laying her broom on the grass before continuing. "I wouldn't want first-hand experience of your… Your _broom_ , if you were the last wizard on earth. And if I was the only witch with viable ovaries."

"Wow," George appeared in the conversation now, holding one hand to his heart, apparently affronted. "Freddie, our little test subject seems to be a feisty one! Do you think she'll come around to the cause?"

"I am not joining a cult," Selene cut in, quickly, before George could get another word in edgeways. "Whatever cause this is, I have enough causes of my own, and I didn't sign up to a cause. A bet is a bet, but nothing more than that."

"A cause like Pureblood Supremacy?" Fred asked sarcastically. "Please, don't try to convert us, Malfoy. We like you because you're fun to mess with, not because we're interested in that crap."

"Trust me, I'm not trying to," Selene rubbed her eyes, stooping down to pick up her broom. "Believe it or not, I'm allowed to have friends without trying to convert them. Confusing, I know. Especially for people like you."

She turned away from the twins, starting up towards the castle, ignoring the absence of Cho, who was doubtless chewing Angelina Johnson out over their unfair use of a Quidditch professional for a seemingly non-competitive game. All Selene wanted was a warm bath, a good book, and an afternoon to forget about the upcoming ball.

But no such luck. "Awwwww, Malfoy!" one twin, probably Fred, appeared on her left side, grasping her hand. "Does that mean we're your friends now?"

"You know what, Freddie," George appeared on the right, sporting an identical eye-watering beam. "I think it does."

"I don't need friends," Selene grumbled childishly, but let Fred clasp her hand, in an excruciatingly tight grip. "Let alone _Weasley_ friends."

"Calm down, sunshine," George snickered, linking his arm with Selene's. "You would have hexed us if you'd hated us."

Which was true. Selene almost stopped, dead in her tracks, considering this. Instead, she opted for a 'walk and think' approach, not least because she was mostly being pulled along by the twins. "You know what," she said suddenly, a plan forming in her mind. "I don't hate you guys."

"You don't?" the twins chorused, the confusion, and surprise, apparent in both of their voices. "Wow, the Ice Queen has feelings," Fred continued, snickering into his hand at George's expression (one of complete bewilderment).

"I don't," Selene repeated, the plan taking firmer shape in her mind as she paused, the walking ceasing to a halt. She turned to her left, looking Fred up and down. "In fact… Fred, would you like to accompany me to the Yule Ball?"

The silence pressed on the trio, with the only sound emanating from the Forbidden Forest, a few yards away. Selene waited patiently, watching the twin's face turn from pink, to a deep scarlet red. "U-uh…" he stuttered, and Selene smirked. "Um…"

"He's taking Angelina," George interrupted, scratching the back of his neck. "But, uh… If you want to take me, I'm free."

"Okay then," Selene nodded, biting back a snicker (Fred was still incapable of forming coherent sentences). "Weasley, would you like to come to the Yule Ball with me?"

"Charming," Fred muttered, with a face like thunder. "We aren't just… Interchangeable!"

"Of course not, Weasley," Selene patted the boy on the shoulder. "But you're the only two non-repulsive boys I know. It's both of you, one of you, or neither of you. If you wanted to at least attempt to be dateable, you'd need to cut that hair of yours."

"I don't like you," Fred continued, acting as if Selene hadn't said anything. "You can't just do that! We aren't your _toys_ ," he fumed, looking at his twin. "George is a person too, y'know? It's not FredandGeorge, you can't swap one for the other."

"Even though you do?" Selene raised an eyebrow, before shrugging. "Well, Fred, you're taken, and I need a date, so, George, what do you say?"

"He says no," Fred snarled, grabbing his brother's hand. "Come on, George. You're better than this. Don't let her get to you."

"Hey, Fred, calm down mate," George pulled his hand free and clasped his twin on the shoulder. "She makes a fair enough point. And you know I've been having issues getting a date for the Ball."

Selene sighed loudly, pulling the attention of the twins away from each other and back to her. "Look," she said, leaning on her broomstick. "It's you two, or it's Theodore Nott, my family's particular choice."

"Ew," George pulled a face, nodding sympathetically. "I totally get what you mean," he admitted. "But, I mean… Won't your parents be even more mad that you went with a Weasley?"

"Undoubtedly," Selene nodded, glancing for a second at Fred, and his slowly melting anger. "So, I mean, it would be a massive favour. In return for this testing. And I could make it worth your while."

"I don't want your Death Eater father's money!" Fred exploded, chewing on his bottom lip. "And I don't want to get implicated in this. Malfoy could seriously mess up dad's job. It's too risky, George."

"Yes," George replied, after a couple moments more thought. "I'd be happy to go to the Ball with you, Malfoy."

Fred's mouth opened and closed like a fish, with no sound coming out. Selene smiled a truly grateful smile, and tipped her broom over her shoulder. "I'll see you on the 25th then, Weasley." she gave Fred a smirk and a condescending nod. Oh, he wasn't happy. "I'll be wearing dark blue. Please don't clash."

"You know what, George," Fred said after Selene was a safe distance away. "I don't think that girl deserves to be the test subject for Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, bet or no bet."

"Wow, Fred Weasley is breaking a bet," George snickered, absent-mindedly polishing his broom with the sleeve of his red Quidditch robe. "Be careful, or you'll turn out like Bagman."


	13. Chapter 12

**Thank you so much to all my new reviewers - the Guest reviewer, love fiction 2018, x3sYellowie and owlnighteye! I didn't expect so much interest in this story, so it's a lovely surprise!**

 **To the Guest reviewer: thank you! Some bite was exactly what I wanted. She's definitely not meant to be fully likeable, even though she isn't exactly a horrific person. I hope you enjoy this chapter too!**

 **Please review, favourite or follow, or just read - everything is willingly and gratefully accepted.**

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 **Until then, enjoy the chapter, and let me know your thoughts.**

Chapter 12: Unexpected

"How _dare_ she," Theodore Nott fumed, taking up the massive armchair by the green flamed fireplace in the Slytherin Common Room. "How dare she do that to me! She knew she was meant to accept my proposal. Malfoy?" He looked over to his friend, who was leaning back into the luxurious green-covered sofa, apparently more concerned with the position of his tailored trousers than Nott's obvious mental anguish.

"Not now, Nott," Draco drawled, crossing one leg over the other carefully, smoothing out the wrinkles that had formed in his trousers. "Honestly, you know she's just playing hard to get…" at least, he hoped so. He had already experienced his father's wrath in letter form, he had no idea what he was going to do to Selene when they finally returned home.

"Does this mean she isn't going at all?" Nott twiddled his thumbs, wiping his palms on his robes before leaning forwards to get closer to the blonde boy. "You need to keep a better grip of her, Malfoy. The same thing happened with Andromeda Black, you know," he paused, waiting to see if Draco would react, before continuing. "One moment she's doing her own thing, the next she's married a Muggleborn and is living in a cottage with a pond."

"Shut up, Nott," Draco grumbled, Crabbe and Goyle shadowing his mutters with a chorus of 'yeah, shut up, Nott'. "There is one thing my sister is not, and that is a Blood Traitor," he completed, although the face of George Weasley did come to mind. He wasn't sure what Selene was up to, hanging around with the Weasley twins, but for now, he was content to defend his sister against (seemingly) unwarranted attacks

"Are you sure?" Nott sneered, raising one black eyebrow in a well used expression. "She does seem _awfully_ interested in Fred and George Weasley… Have you even spoken to her recently?" he sat back, smirking triumphantly, noting the thinly veiled dismay in Draco's eyes with glee.

Draco leaned back in his sofa again, looking around the Common Room. Thankfully, it was deserted, apart from the quartet on the sofa and armchairs, as most of the students were still attending dinner, or had returned home for the Christmas holidays. "Yes," he replied, after a weighted pause. "I have. And she's assured me, there is nothing between her and the Weasels."

"Sureee," Nott drawled, rolling his eyes and crossing his arms in annoyance. "I have half a mind to find her and speak to her myself. What kind of wife will she make if she is this insolent as a… A _girl_?"

Crabbe and Goyle, who had been watching this conversation take place with equal measurements of confusion and anticipation, met each other's gaze at this moment, the latter sniggering under his breath. "Goyle, what is it?" Draco sighed, looking sideways at his crony. "If you need the toilet, then go on, you don't need to ask."

Goyle blushed, looking down at the stone tiled floor and muttering something unintelligible under his breath. "Why do you even keep them around?" Nott questioned, ignoring Draco's annoyance at having been interrupted in his presidency as King of the Slytherin Common Room. "It's like having two dumpy Hippogriffs sleeping on the end of your bed. Annoying."

"Is that so?" Draco rolled his eyes, pretty much ignoring Nott's presence, instead choosing to examine the wall tapestry to the right of the fireplace. "Honestly, Nott, if you aren't going to contribute anything interesting to this conversation - please go."

Nott blushed a deeper shade of crimson than Goyle, and picked up his Herbology textbook, muttering something about Gillyweed. He pulled up the textbook in front of his face, effectively separating himself from his fellow Slytherins, with a huff, and another mutter about Selene Malfoy and her apparent insolence.

Draco chewed his lip, smoothing out his trousers yet again, focus turning to the fireplace, and the menacingly glinting flames in the grate. Whether Nott was right or not about Selene's supposed attraction to the twin Weasels (which he very much doubted, because his sister had standards, even if puberty had occasionally got the better of her), he couldn't help but agree with the insolent remark. He knew that Selene and Lucius rarely got on, and Selene had always been a natural born rebel against her father's opinions.

Nott was still hidden behind his Herbology textbook, but Draco got to his feet, bending over to smooth out the newly formed trouser wrinkles. "Leave me," he said, to the pair of boys behind him, who had been tripping over themselves in an attempt to catch up with the Malfoy. A constant shadow (or, more accurately, two constant shadows) wasn't exactly what he needed right now. Nott could occasionally be right, and it was true - Crabbe and Goyle were painful to both look at and talk to.

The Library. Selene would be in there. If not, it would be Ravenclaw Tower, which would present more of an issue for Draco, as he wasn't very good at riddles. Remembering the word ' _Blood Traitor_ ' for the Slytherin Common Room was the extent of his knowledge, and probably the reason that his sister was the only Malfoy Ravenclaw.

Not that he was worried about the Weasley twins. Of course not. He knew Selene, and despite her lack of good old-fashioned Slytherin sadism, she knew where her loyalties lay.

Of course, if he could read his sister's mind, especially after the altercation with Fred on the Astronomy Tower, Draco would be much more concerned, but unfortunately he was left to his own, slightly misguided, intuition.

Secretly, he was rather glad that his sister had rejected Nott's invitation to the Yule Ball. The Nott family were of short stock, and the Malfoys were naturally tall. With Selene taking after their mother, pale blonde, tall, with the distinctive thick dark black Black family eyebrows, they would be horrendously mismatched. But Draco knew Selene. She would go. Chang, that infuriating half-blood best friend of hers, would make her.

When Draco made it to the library, it appeared that his assumptions had been correct. Selene was there, sitting in the corner, a large book in her lap, paper and quill abandoned on the table to her left. Obviously distracted, noticeably alone.

He moved to walk towards her, before stopping in his tracks as another person entered the library, heading straight for Selene's table. Draco looked around in horror, taking an empty armchair and pulling a book down off the shelf closest to him, opening it to a random page and pretending to be lost in the story.

 _Gadding with Ghouls_. What a great choice.

"Malfoy!" a jovial voice exclaimed. Draco peeked over the top of the book, attempting to look as suave as possible in the process, before his heart sunk to the pit of his stomach. What was _Weasley_ doing in the library?

"What do you _want,_ Weasel?" Selene sighed, closing the book with a slam and a dust of air. "Honestly, if you ask me _one more time_ to do your DADA homework, I will hex you into next week."

"Of course not," the twin replied, seemingly affronted by the suggestion. "No, I just thought I would come in here to make your day a little brighter."

"Well, you're not succeeding," Draco's sister replied. He could sense her eye roll, even from behind the covers of this Gilderoy Lockhart bestseller. "I'm busy, Weasley. Go bother someone who cares."

"Ah, but no," the twin cut in again, as Draco heard the familiar scrapes of a chair against the stone floor. "I've come to collect our little bet, _Malfoy_."

Selene got to her feet, Draco lowering the book somewhat to get a better look at the pair. "No," she said quickly, packing away her quills and paper into her satchel. "That bet is off, Weasley. It's been off since I decided to bless you with my presence on Christmas."

"Nuh-uh," the Weasley persisted, grabbing Selene's hand in a tight grip. "You're not getting away from us that easily. A bet's a bet, and you're a decent girl. I'm sure you don't mind spending a few hours with your favourite pair of Blood Traitors."

"For your information," Selene wrenched away her hand from the boy, grimacing. "I prefer your sister. Because at least she has a pair of balls, even if they are red haired and freckled."

"Would you like to see for yourself?" the redhead propositioned, a shit-eating grin on his face and a twinkle in his eye. Selene shuddered, shaking her head quickly, but the frown was permanently affixed to Draco's face. Yes, she was being mean to him, but it seemed more like friendly banter than the way she _should_ be reacting to disgusting prepositions from a Weasley.

"Go jinx yourself and jump off Gryffindor Tower, Weasel," Selene pulled a face. "I'm not going to participate in your stupid little schemes."

"Are you not?" the Weasley grinned again, raising an eyebrow. "Then I guess you've lost your date to the Ball then, my dearest."

Draco's eyebrows furrowed, before the truth of the matter hit him. Why had _Weasley_ asked _his sister_ to the _Yule Ball_? He wasn't sure whether to vomit or to get up right now and intervene in this ridiculous conversation.

"How do you know I've not asked anyone else?" Selene replied snappishly, crossing her arms over her chest. "Honestly, Weasley. You aren't my only option."

"That's not what you were saying last week," the Weasley responded, mimicking Selene's action. "Come _on_ , Malfoy. We won't keep you for more than an hour or two. Then you'll be free to do as much homework as you please."

Okay, Draco was done with this. He couldn't sit back and listen to this altercation a single moment longer. He needed to go, and hear, straight from Selene, _exactly_ what was going on here. He wouldn't believe in a million years that Selene had accepted a proposal from a filthy Weasley, let alone _asked_ one, on what would assumedly be a romantic date.

He slotted _Gadding With Ghouls_ back into place on the shelf, and got to his feet, marching towards the pair with a single purpose in mind. Selene, to her credit, looked mostly relieved to see her brother, but Weasley appeared to have swallowed a lemon.

"What are you _doing_ here, Weasley?" Draco sneered, standing behind his sister, taking full advantage of his Malfoy height and long, thin nose. "Has my sister been speaking to you? A filthy Blood Traitor?"

The Weasley blushed scarlet, and opened his mouth to reply, but Selene cut in before the twin could find the words to respond. "Oh, shut up, Draco," she drawled, rolling her eyes luxuriously. "What matter is it to you who I speak to and when?"

"When I heard you'd be going to the Ball with this Weasel!" Draco snarled, looking at the twin, who was watching with an expression of bewilderment. "When Nott said you'd rejected him, I thought you'd just wanted to annoy father - not do _this_!"

"I'm not having this conversation," Selene replied, in a quieter tone, eyeing Madam Pince with a hesitant glance. She leaned in closer to Draco, ignoring the Weasley. "Look - you are _not_ father, and I am _not_ our mother. I will do what I want. And you are in no position to stop me, now, are you?"

Draco could feel his face heating up, but he shook his head. "Father _will_ hear about this," he hissed. "Watch your back, _sister_. It would be such a shame if someone found out about your little love affair, hmm?"

Selene pulled away, looking disgusted. "Let's go, Weasley," she said, turning away from Draco without a second glance. "I'm not having this conversation here. Draco, if you want to talk to me, catch me at a decent time, like at breakfast. Or send me a letter." She reached out behind her and patted his shoulder.

"Stay away from her, _Weasley_ ," Draco sneered, as the pair left, causing the twin to stop as Selene stormed out of the room. "I don't want my family to be tainted with filthy Mudblood-loving blood. And if you so much as make a move, I will speak to my father," Draco smirked, even as the Weasley turned dark scarlet, a furious expression crossing his face. "And he is _very_ high up in the Ministry, as you well know. He could make life _very_ hard for you and your Muggle-loving family."

"You're scum," the twin replied, at a normal volume, receiving a glare and a 'ssh' from the librarian. "I have no interest in your sister. She's just a friend. She's a damn sight more reasonable than you, _Malfoy,_ " he spat, before following the girl out of the library, ignoring Madam Pince's furious glare.

Draco scowled, sitting down on the abandoned chair, and throwing his bag onto the floor. He knew what he was going to do. But he wasn't going to be spoken to like that by anyone, not even his sister. And he knew exactly the person to write to, to bring Selene's fragile world falling down around her, so she would come running back to him, and the safe part of the Wizarding World, away from Blood Traitors and Muggleborns.

oOo

The next day was Christmas Eve, and the preparations for the Ball were in full swing. The Great Hall was already slowly being transformed into a venue suitable for such an event, with a stage being built at the top, where the top table was usually placed. This had forced the Professors into sitting at circular table, meaning that an uncomfortable looking Professor Snape had been squeezed into a small gap between McGonagall and Hagrid.

The usual decorations - the four banners of the four houses - had been replaced with Christmassy-looking streamers, and the enchanted ceiling was in a perpetual state of snow and ice. Indeed, it looked like the Ball would be the event it was expected to be, which left Cho Chang in a shock of excitement.

"Can you _imagine_ just how _romantic_ it will be?" she gushed, wrapping her arm around Cedric, who had joined her and her friends at the Ravenclaw table for breakfast. Selene neglected to mention Harry Potter, who had been dramatically rejected by Cho only a few days earlier. The night would probably be a sight less romantic for him.

"Sure," she replied instead, distantly, more concerned about her breakfast plate, which was piled high with fried bread and bacon. "If you're with a romantic date, that is."

"Come off it, Malfoy," Marietta cut in here, rolling her eyes. "You and George Weasley - now _that_ is a romantic date."

Selene snorted, choking on her food a little. "Hell no," she said, after she regained her speech back. "There is nothing between us, Marietta. Nothing. Nothing at all."

The conversation followed the usual pattern of many before it, with one of the girls insisting that Selene _must_ be having an affair with the aforementioned Weasley twin, and Selene vehemently denying it, time after time. It wasn't shaking her opinion of the boys, however. She was in no way interested in them in any more than a friendly way. That would be a step too far. Blood Traitors or not.

NEWTs came first, and even though she was letting her hair down for the event, she wasn't going to abandon her studies for a whirlwind Triwizard romance. And in that respect, her family could at least be slightly proud of her.

"Leave her to her ignorance, Marietta," Cho mimicked Marietta's gesture, leaning forward over the table. Cedric, who had been released by this movement, risked a sympathetic smile at Selene, who simply shrugged in return. "What I _really_ want to know is— have you finally been asked?"

"Yes," Marietta said, smiling mysteriously. "A Durmstrang boy. _Unfortunately_ it isn't Krum… He's asked the Granger girl."

"WHAT?" Cho spluttered, turning around, searching for Granger, furiously scanning up and down the Gryffindor table for the bushy haired girl. "You have _got_ to be kidding me… Granger? Out of everyone? Hermione-effing-Granger?"

"Sssh!" Marietta responded dramatically, holding a finger to her lips before continuing. "I don't think she knows that I know… But I was round the corner, doing DADA homework… And I overheard them."

"I wonder why she hasn't told anyone," Cho said in confusion. Selene rolled her eyes, swallowing a last bite of bread before climbing to her feet.

"Arithmancy homework," she said, as way of an explanation, when the trio turned to watch her go. "It waits for no one, you know," not even the Yule Ball, she thought ruefully, remembering the uproar that had erupted the moment that Professor Vector announced thirteen hours worth of homework to be completed over the Christmas period.

"Well," Cho followed Selene to her feet, looking her friend up and down. "You aren't getting away from us tomorrow. So make the most of your freedom!" the Scottish girl grinned, causing the other to roll her eyes, yet again.

"Of course," she sighed, shouldering her bag. "Coming, Cedric?"

The boy shook his head quickly, glancing sideways at his girlfriend, who was already absorbed in another conversation with Marietta. "Haven't finished eating," he justified, copying Selene's earlier shrug. "Want to buddy up?"

"I'll be fine," Selene brushed off, trying not to let the disappointment show on her face. She was often pretty lonely in the library, but she wasn't going to let anyone know that. Or they'd suggest that she pal up with Granger or something. Yes, Granger had helped her that one time, but she was still… Well, Muggleborn.

Her S.P.E.W. badge was lying, abandoned, at the bottom of her sock drawer. She had never thought about wearing it. For one thing, orange really wasn't her colour. And she didn't want to ruin her street cred too much (the damage was already done with her status as 'the Ravenclaw Ice Queen').

"Oh my Rowena, you two never stop following me around!" Selene exclaimed, as soon as a flash of red hair appeared in her peripheral vision. "Honestly, it's like having a perpetual stormcloud hovering over my shoulder… For the last time, George, I will _not_ dye my hair red to match yours for tomorrow."

She turned on her heel, mustering her fullest height, straightening her back and arching her shoulders. She wasn't best pleased with the Weasley twins after the whole forcing her to let them test their joke products on her. Having emerged from that particular meeting with a spectacular set of boils, and a raging fever, Selene had attempted to avoid the pair of them. However, they always seemed to find her, and at the most inopportune moments as well.

But Selene found herself looking up at the Weasley, eyebrow raising when she recognised the redhead as a Weasley other than one of the twins. "Ron, was it?" she said, attempting to not sound too hostile. The look on Ron's face told her that she had failed miserably.

"Yes," the boy said shortly, holding out a quill pen in the palm of one hand. "You dropped this, _Malfoy_."

"Wow," Selene muttered, reaching out to take the feathered quill from the boy. "Any colder and you'll give me pneumonia, Weasley."

The boy's ears were tinged pink, which made Selene smirk in satisfaction. "W-well, uh," the boy stammered, before he squared his own shoulders, trying to stand his ground. "What's this about my brother and the Ball?"

Selene looked over to the Gryffindor table, noting George's slightly panicked expression with a smirk. "Oh, he didn't tell you?" she said, holding a hand to heart in mock shock. "Oh, what a tragedy!" Leaning forward, she placed her pale hand on the boy's shoulder, sniggering inwardly at his furious blush. "George and I… Well…"

She moved even closer, placing her lips next to the redhead's ear. "We're _together_ ," she whispered meaningfully, before moving away again. Ron's face was noticeably scarlet. "Oh! Ron, what's wrong?"

"I don't believe this," Ron replied furiously, wiping the side of his face with the sleeve of his robe. " _My_ own brother, _dating_ Malfoy's sister?"

Selene just shrugged, opting to remain silent, laughing inwardly at the boy's infuriation. Although she wished she could remain in the Great Hall for the fallout of her small lie, she felt that it might be best if she left before any of the sparks could hit her. "Thank you for picking up my quill, _Ron_ ," she whispered again, holding a finger to her lips. "Keep this a secret for me, alright?"

"No!" Ron exclaimed hotly, turning away and storming over to the Gryffindor table, leaving behind a very amused Selene in his wake. As she swiftly moved away from the scene, Ron's furious yells echoed after her. "George, what the _hell_ do you think you're doing? _Shagging_ Malfoy's sister…"

oOo

Selene was hardly surprised with the letter she received that evening, but the lack of a red envelope and smoking corners did. She lifted the letter up in her hands, delicately sniffing it, smelling the familiar scent of her mother's perfume.

Maybe Narcissa had managed to quell Lucius's temper. It certainly seemed that way, because as the letter was opened, Selene could only see the curly green cursive of her mother's handwriting - hardly the angry scribbles she had been expecting.

 _My dearest Selene,_

Selene raised an eyebrow. A friendly greeting. A surprise in the circumstances. It seemed that her little plan hadn't fully paid off. Yet, in any case.

 _Your father and I are simply thrilled that you accepted Theodore Nott's proposal on Thursday-_

Wait, what? Selene paused, trying to process the words, before slowly reading the line again. No, it definitely said that. Right there, in green ink. The assertion that she had done something she had no memory of hearing, let alone accepting.

The rest of the letter covered another three pages of parchment, but they remained on Selene's bed, unread, as she saw red. She was going to _kill_ that brother of hers. How _dare_ he do this to her? He knew her feelings on her technical betrothal to the Nott boy. Godric, he had even supported her opposition to it!

She ground her teeth, perching on the side of her bed, reading the line over and over again, just to check that there had been no mistake. But no, it was still there. The cold, hard truth, of the person her brother was.

A little, bloody _bastard_.


End file.
